Bharti Airtel on Thursday announced that it has acquired a strategic stake in Aqilliz — a blockchain as a service company — for an undisclosed sum.

The telecom giant aims to deploy Aqilliz’s blockchain technologies across its adtech (Airtel Ads), digital entertainment (Wynk Music and Airtel Xstream) and digital marketplace (Airtel Thanks App) offerings.

“Blockchain technology is maturing and we see its application across areas such as Adtech, Creator Economy, and Loyalty Programmes. We are thrilled to have Aqilliz join our Startup Accelerator Programme and be part of Airtel’s digital innovation factory,” Airtel Digital CEO Adarsh Nair said.

Singapore-based Aqilliz has developed a patented hybrid blockchain platform, Atom, that integrates differential privacy and federated learning on a distributed digital ledger.

Aqilliz’s patented technology will enable Airtel to capture and carry this value exchange in the form of consent and provenance across the digital supply chain.

“We look forward to working closely with Airtel,” Aqilliz’s CEO G. Ragothaman said.

The technology allows brands to create secure and consent-based solutions to engage with customers in a rapidly-evolving digital economy that’s becoming increasingly decentralised, Airtel said.