SentinelOne strengthens India focus with AI-driven cybersecurity, digital ecosystem and talent expansion

SentinelOne is redefining the future of cybersecurity with AI at the core of its strategy, viewing it as both a defensive shield and an offensive weapon against increasingly sophisticated threats. With India’s expanding digital ecosystem playing a pivotal role in its global roadmap, the company is strengthening local investments, talent expansion, and partnerships to address unique regional challenges. In an interaction with VARINDIA, Diwakar Dayal, Managing Director & Area Vice President – India & SAARC at SentinelOne, shared insights on AI-driven defence, evolving threats, and India’s growing importance. Excerpts:

How does SentinelOne see the evolving role of AI in cybersecurity over the next 3–5 years?

SentinelOne sees the evolving role of AI in cybersecurity over the next 3–5 years as a fundamental transformation that goes beyond just defensive measures. While AI will enable a shift from traditional reactive defence to proactive and fully autonomous security operations, SentinelOne acknowledges that AI is also being leveraged by cyber adversaries, making attacks more sophisticated and faster. This dynamic creates a scenario where organisations must use AI not only to defend but to fight AI-powered attacks, effectively making security a contest between AI-driven offence and defence.

We also recognize that AI-driven cybersecurity solutions will empower organisations to anticipate, prevent, and remediate attacks with minimal manual intervention crucial in today’s digitised environments where speed and precision are key. Our AI platform continuously learns from every incident to improve detection and prevention, supports autonomous threat hunting and response, and integrates offensive security tactics by simulating attacks to prioritise vulnerabilities.

As bad actors increasingly use AI-driven tools to launch attacks rapidly; organisations must scale their cybersecurity with both defensive and offensive AI to stay ahead. Our comprehensive strategy employs behavioural analysis, autonomous remediation, and continuous learning from threat intelligence to combat AI-powered threats. This balanced view recognises AI as a double-edged sword enhancing defence while also increasing attack sophistication making it vital for organisations to use AI to effectively counter AI-driven threats.

What sets SentinelOne’s AI-powered platform apart from other solutions claiming autonomous defence capabilities?

Autonomy isn’t an afterthought - it’s foundational. Our platform was designed AI-first from day one. Our proprietary Purple AI, doesn’t just detect threats, it triages, investigates, and remediates threats in real time. What truly differentiates us is our platform agnostic approach. We seamlessly integrate with legacy systems, security information and event management systems (SIEMs), and hybrid environments, allowing businesses to modernise their defences without starting from scratch. This powerful combination of advanced AI technology, architectural flexibility, and true autonomy is what makes our platform uniquely effective.

With attackers themselves increasingly leveraging AI, how does SentinelOne stay ahead of adversaries who are also innovating rapidly?

Cyber adversaries are harnessing AI to enhance their capabilities, but we innovate at an even faster pace–continuous innovation is embedded in our DNA. We rigorously test and deploy advanced models from leading AI pioneers such as Anthropic, OpenAI, and Amazon Nova to ensure our defences remain adaptive and resilient. Our behavioural, cloud-native platform learns in real time, staying in lockstep with emerging threats so our customers maintain the upper hand against even the most sophisticated AI-driven attacks. This constant evolution is reinforced by a culture that prioritises research and strategic partnerships, allowing SentinelOne to anticipate threat actor tactics before they become widespread. Our proactive approach ensures defenders stay several steps ahead in the cybersecurity arms race.

Could you elaborate on the technologies underpinning your platform’s autonomous detection and response?

Our approach is fundamentally rooted in innovation. Storyline, our patented technology, correlates activity across endpoints, users, and networks, reconstructing complex attack chains with full context and timeline clarity. As Purple AI advances, we offer full-loop triage, investigation, and response not just for endpoints, but also across third-party SIEMs and diverse cloud infrastructures. This comprehensive integration of AI minimises dwell times and empowers security teams to respond instantly and with precision at any scale.

By automating these processes, we free security teams from manual drudgery, allowing them to focus on strategic decision-making while trusting the platform to handle the relentless volume and complexity of cybersecurity alerts in real time.

How important is India in SentinelOne’s global growth strategy?

India is central to SentinelOne’s global roadmap. The country’s unparalleled digital expansion, combined with a dynamic threat landscape, positions India as both a strategic investment hub and an innovation incubator. Our focus is on adapting and scaling AI-driven solutions tailored to the unique and evolving requirements of the Indian market.

Looking ahead, India’s growing technology ecosystem and digital transformation journeys promise immense collaborative opportunities. We are committed to fostering innovation here, bringing the best of global advances to serve the region’s distinct cybersecurity challenges.

Are you seeing any unique threat trends in the Indian or broader APAC region?

The Indian and broader APAC region is witnessing a significant rise in cyberattacks targeting multi-cloud infrastructures, supply chain vulnerabilities, and advanced social engineering tactics. Common threats include ransomware, deepfakes, and sophisticated phishing campaigns, which have become increasingly rampant. Compounding these challenges is a shortage of skilled cybersecurity professionals, making automated, AI-driven solutions essential to counter the growing complexity and precision of attacks.

This evolving threat landscape demands strategic partnerships among industry, government, and technology providers to build resilience. SentinelOne is actively supporting initiatives to enhance local expertise and drive awareness around emerging risks.

Can you share plans for expanding partnerships, R&D, or talent investment in India?

India remains a strategic priority in our quest for global resilience. We are scaling our local teams in Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru, and rapidly expanding go-to-market partnerships under our global PartnerOne programme. Our investments include extensive R&D devoted to cloud-native and AI-powered innovations, as well as comprehensive partner and talent development which empowers Managed Service Providers (MSPs), Global System Integrators (GSIs), and value-added resellers to meet the evolving cybersecurity needs of Indian enterprises.

These efforts are designed not only to expand SentinelOne’s footprint but also to catalyse the broader cybersecurity ecosystem in India, fostering innovation, collaboration, and sustained growth throughout the region.

What has been the most compelling business case for Indian enterprises adopting AI-powered cybersecurity?

The continued digital transformation of Indian enterprises offers immense opportunity, but also ushers in unprecedented risks and challenges, further intensified by the cybersecurity talent shortage. SentinelOne’s AI-native platform automates threat detection, investigation, and response, empowering even lean security teams to protect complex environments with greater speed and scale. This operational uplift and adaptive defence have proven crucial for Indian organisations, enabling them to secure their digital journeys and build long-term resilience.

Moreover, as compliance and regulatory landscapes evolve, AI-driven security helps enterprises maintain stringent protection standards efficiently, reinforcing trust with customers and stakeholders alike.