Airtel Acquires Strategic Stake in Blockchain Technology Startup Aqilliz

Telecom major Bharti Airtel on Thursday announced that it has acquired a strategic stake in Aqilliz, a Blockchain-as-a-service company. Airtel aims to deploy Aqilliz's blockchain technologies at scale across its fast-growing adtech (Airtel Ads), digital entertainment (Wynk Music and Airtel Xstream), and digital marketplace (Airtel Thanks App) offerings.

"Bharti Airtel has acquired a strategic stake in Aqilliz –a Blockchain-as-a-service company under the Airtel Startup Accelerator Program, subject to applicable statutory approvals," the company said in a statement. It did not divulge the financial details of the deal.

Singapore-based Aqilliz has developed a patented hybrid blockchain platform, Atom, that integrates differential privacy and federated learning on a distributed digital ledger. This allows brands to create secure and consent-based solutions to engage with customers in a rapidly-evolving digital economy that's becoming increasingly decentralised, the statement added.