ESET expands into India with a local entity, signals distributor-led entry

The cybersecurity vendor plans to build local sales and support capabilities in New Delhi while expanding MDR, professional services and partner engagement as AI-driven threats reshape enterprise security operations.

Europe’s largest IT security provider ESET is expanding its presence in India with the establishment of ESET Software India Pvt. Ltd. in New Delhi, signalling a broader push into the country’s enterprise and channel ecosystem while increasing investments in AI-native cybersecurity technologies.

At its security conference ESET World, ESET CEO Richard Marko announced investments of €40 million (approximately $46.4 million) in its research and development team. Marko said the investment would help ESET secure AI workflows and “revolutionise the understanding of cybersecurity telemetry.”

As part of its India strategy, ESET said it is considering working with a local distributor with a strong understanding of Indian customers and market dynamics, suggesting a partner-led route-to-market approach as the company scales local operations.

“India is a growing market, and we see a lot of opportunities,” Marko said. “As a privately owned company, we are under no pressure to launch our entire portfolio on the market straight away; instead, we are considering working with a local distributor who has a very good understanding of the Indian market and the needs of customers.”

The company said the formation of ESET Software India Pvt. Ltd. will support the expansion of local management, sales and support capabilities, while strengthening engagement with channel partners and helping the vendor expand into new customer segments.

“The establishment of ESET Software India Pvt. Ltd. marks a significant step in ESET’s long-term commitment to India and the broader APAC region,” said ESET’s president, APAC, Parvinder Walia. “With a stronger local presence, we are better positioned to empower our channel partners, expand into new customer segments, and deliver advanced capabilities, including MDR and professional services.”

ESET described India as an important bridgehead for its broader APAC ambitions, with plans to localise solutions and tailor offerings to the specific requirements of Indian organisations.

The expansion also reflects a wider shift underway across the cybersecurity industry, where vendors are increasingly restructuring security operations around AI-native attack environments involving autonomous agents, external AI services, plugins and AI-driven workflows.

A new era of cybersecurity

In his keynote, Marko outlined the current cyber threat landscape. The use of AI is multiplying attack scenarios.

ESET scanned around 800,000 “unique AI capabilities” in March alone, marking roughly 25,000 as suspicious and blocking over 3,000 as malicious. According to the company, cyber actors are increasingly using modular AI components capable of interacting with external systems, services and tools autonomously.

“We are facing an entirely new era of cybersecurity,” Marko said. “Artificial intelligence is no longer just a tool for defence. It is becoming part of the attack surface itself.”

The €40 million investment plan will be directed across three strategic areas, including the development of cybersecurity-focused AI models, a multi-layered AI security stack and a new generation of AI-powered Security Operations Centres (SOC). ESET also plans to increase its R&D organisation to 1,000 researchers and engineers over the next three years.

Unlike general-purpose AI systems trained on broad internet content, ESET said its AI models are being optimised using cybersecurity telemetry and threat intelligence gathered over nearly 35 years.

The company also plans to further expand AI-powered technologies, including LiveGrid, LiveCortex and LiveGuard, while developing systems designed to process, correlate and interpret cybersecurity telemetry at greater scale and speed.

Rather than positioning AI purely as an automation layer, ESET said its next-generation AI SOC strategy is focused on supervised autonomous security operations capable of handling increasingly complex detection and response environments.

The vendor also framed the investment as part of a broader push toward cybersecurity sovereignty, arguing that advanced AI security capabilities should not become overly dependent on a small number of global technology companies.

Alongside India, ESET also announced new local operations in France and the Netherlands, taking its total number of offices globally to 20. The company said its direct-market expansion model has previously helped deepen engagements with government-linked and security-sensitive organisations in Europe.

ESET has also been increasing its visibility in India’s AI and cybersecurity ecosystem through participation in initiatives such as the India AI Impact Summit 2026.

The expansion signals potential opportunities around MDR, AI-led SOC modernisation, professional security services and enterprise security transformation for Indian channel partners, MSSPs and solution providers, as organisations prepare for increasingly AI-driven threat landscapes.