Proofpoint Expands India Operations With New AI Security Centres
Proofpoint is expanding its operations in India by establishing a new AI Security Engineering Centre of Excellence in Hyderabad and opening a new office in Delhi, according to company announcements. The cybersecurity firm’s expansion comes as organizations rapidly adopt artificial intelligence while grappling with escalating threats, data privacy mandates, and strict data localization requirements.
According to Proofpoint, the company’s India business tripled over the past 12 months, while protected seats surged by more than 600% over the past 18 months. Chief Executive Officer Sumit Dhawan noted that the market growth underscores the shifting technological landscape. As organisations embrace AI, protecting people and sensitive data—and securing how employees and AI agents work together—becomes even more critical, Dhawan stated, highlighting the firm’s decision to double down on India to meet local privacy and sovereignty needs.
Hyderabad Engineering Centre and AI Security Expansion
The newly planned AI Security Engineering Centre of Excellence in Hyderabad is slated to drive research and development operations globally for the firm. According to company disclosures, the facility will support the development of core AI security technologies and feed directly into Proofpoint’s broader security roadmap. Engineering efforts at the hub will integrate technologies obtained via Proofpoint’s acquisition of Acuvity, focusing specifically on runtime protection, AI governance, and safeguards for copilots, autonomous agents, and AI applications.
In addition to the Hyderabad hub, the expansion includes plans to recruit more than 200 engineers over the next 12 to 24 months alongside the launch of the new Delhi office. The enterprise already operates a Centre of Excellence in Pune staffed by more than 550 extended team members supporting engineering initiatives. Demand across India spans multiple high-stakes sectors, including the banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) sector, defense, public administration, and business process outsourcing, yielding double-digit new customer acquisition growth over the past year.
Data Protection Pressures and Compliance Under DPDPA
The regional expansion coincides with heightened concern regarding sensitive enterprise data movement. Proofpoint’s 2025 Voice of the CISO report revealed that 99% of surveyed Indian chief information security officers reported a material loss of sensitive data, compared to a global average of 66%. This acute exposure aligns with organizational preparations for the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDPA), prompting Indian enterprises to overhaul how they govern personal and sensitive records.
To address these regulatory realities, Proofpoint is scaling its data security portfolio in the country. The offering integrates Data Loss Prevention (DLP), Data Security Posture Management (DSPM), Adaptive Email DLP, and Insider Threat Management. These integrated tools give security teams unified visibility into data sensitivity, user behavior, and threat context. For organizations bound by strict on-premises mandates or data localization laws, the platform supports insider threat programs that keep sensitive records contained within specific domestic infrastructure.
Global AI Risks and Active Exploits Protection
Proofpoint’s broader market strategy is informed by its 2026 AI and Human Risk Landscape report, which found that 87% of organizations worldwide have deployed AI, yet 52% of those adopters lack full confidence in their ability to detect a compromised AI system. As employees route information across a growing web of applications, security teams face the challenge of tracking where sensitive assets reside and how they are handled.
To counter active threats, the firm is deploying its Active Exploits Protection capability to help security teams identify vulnerabilities currently being exploited in the wild. By prioritizing remediation based on actual attacker behavior, the software aims to minimize enterprise exposure. By tying data sensitivity metrics directly to user activity and threat intelligence, Proofpoint aims to help organizations resolve complex security challenges without treating user monitoring and data protection as separate problems.