To harness its digital advantage, India must build a sovereign, secure ecosystem aligned with global benchmarks

As India accelerates its cloud adoption, VergeCloud has emerged as the country’s first “edge-native” CDN and cloud security platform, built for performance, sovereignty, and compliance.

Hamid Rostami, Founder of Bengaluru-based VergeCloud has been instrumental in shaping its low-latency architecture with 40+ Points of Presence, 3 Tbps of DDoS scrubbing, AnyCast routing, and advanced L4/L7 traffic engineering. With 99.999% uptime and transparent INR-based pricing, VergeCloud is redefining how enterprises—from BFSI to OTT—consume secure digital infrastructure.

Under his leadership, VergeCloud is delivering sub-35 ms latency, real-time caching, and bundled security for OTT, BFSI, SaaS, gaming, and MSMEs, while strengthening its India-first footprint through Tier 2/3 adoption programs, regional data centers, vernacular AI/ML, and partnerships with universities for future-ready talent.

“India’s digital economy cannot be built on borrowed infrastructure. We are creating an edge-native ecosystem that blends world-class performance with compliance to DPDP Act, RBI, and sectoral guidelines. Over the next 2–3 years, success will be defined by how seamlessly we enable the next 500 million users—across India and other emerging digital economies—to experience secure, sovereign, and high-performance digital services”

Hamid Rostami told Bizz Buzz in an exclusive interview

Can you walk us through VergeCloud’s overarching mission and how it sets itself apart in the rapidly evolving cloud and digital services space?

At VergeCloud, our mission is to build an India-First, edge-native cloud platform that blends performance, sovereignty, and security.

Unlike global providers retrofitted for Indian needs, VergeCloud was designed from the ground up to serve India’s unique requirements—sub-35 ms latency, compliance with the DPDP Act 2023, RBI guidelines, and predictable INR-based pricing.

Our differentiation stems from secure performance: a CDN fortified with advanced WAF, 3 Tbps active DDoS scrubbing, Anycast routing, and Layer 4/7 traffic engineering.

For customers, this means websites and apps that not only load faster but also withstand today’s evolving cyber threats without hidden fees or overseas dependencies. We’re not just delivering bits and bytes; we’re strategising how India consumes and trusts digital infrastructure.

What does the current growth trajectory look like for VergeCloud in India, and how do Telangana and Andhra Pradesh fit into this roadmap?

In under a year, VergeCloud has scaled to 40+ global PoPs with 11 in India, and our target is 100 PoPs with 20+ in India within the next phase. Revenue growth is accelerating, with year-1 goals already benchmarked against aggressive adoption in BFSI, OTT, e-commerce, and SaaS.

Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are pivotal to this journey. Telangana is India’s emerging cloud capital with Hyderabad’s thriving data-centre ecosystem, while Andhra Pradesh is cultivating a vibrant startup and SMB culture in cities like Vizag and Vijayawada. Together, they represent the dual forces of enterprise-scale adoption and grassroots digital growth.

How is VergeCloud planning to localise its business model to meet the unique needs of customers in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.

India’s digital future won’t be built only in metros. Our Tier 2/3 adoption program focuses on three pillars:

Localised presence: Deploying PoPs in cities like Patna, Lucknow, and Vijayawada to reduce last-mile latency.

Regional compliance & pricing: Transparent INR billing that removes foreign exchange unpredictability. Dedicated support teams who speak the local business language, not just technical jargon.

By meeting customers where they are, we’re ensuring that a local school in Guntur or a startup in Warangal enjoys the same secure performance as an OTT in Mumbai.

Can you share any key partnerships, government collaborations, or startup initiatives that VergeCloud is engaging in?

VergeCloud thrives on ecosystem building: Government: Supporting State digitisation mandates with sovereign data delivery.

MOUs with local accelerators to provide subsidised CDN and security services. Working with regulated industries to create compliance-ready edge infrastructure. Supporting education and non-profits like the Sri Sathya Sai Annapoorna Trust with lifetime CDN/WAF services.

With Telangana’s emerging reputation as a tech-forward State and Andhra’s growing startup culture, what kind of innovation is VergeCloud hoping to tap into or foster?

Telangana’s proactive policy environment—TS-iPASS, T-Hub, and data-centre clusters—provides a foundation for edge computing pilots.

Andhra’s startup momentum, particularly in fintech and agri-tech, aligns perfectly with our low-latency security and caching capabilities. We aim to foster vernacular AI, compliance-first FinTech integrations, and OTT streaming optimization as innovation drivers in these states.

How does VergeCloud plan to customise its services—whether it’s pricing, language support, or customer experience—for the Telugu-speaking user base?

Local trust is built on local relevance. VergeCloud is embedding vernacular-first strategies. Predictable INR-denominated plans with scalable add-ons that don’t penalise growth.

We have dedicated regional account managers to ensure cultural and linguistic alignment. This helps us serve both enterprises and MSMEs that rely on Telugu-first engagement for adoption.

Are there plans to set up data centers or cloud infrastructure hubs in Telangana or Andhra Pradesh to reduce latency and improve access?

Yes. We are actively investing in regional PoPs and micro data centers in Hyderabad and Vizag. These hubs not only reduce latency but also ensure data residency and compliance—critical for BFSI, healthcare, and government workloads.

Our broader goal is to create a nationwide mesh of edge nodes that extends beyond South India, delivering redundancy, faster caching, and resilience even during global cable disruptions.”

Given the educational institutions in Hyderabad and Vizag, is VergeCloud investing in skill development or talent pipeline initiatives with local universities?

Hyderabad and Vizag are home to premier institutions. VergeCloud is piloting partnerships for: Cloud & security labs: Practical training environments on CDN, WAF, and edge security.

Internships & capstone projects: Offering real-time exposure to cloud operations.

Curriculum alignment: Building edge-native course modules with AI/ML focus.

This ensures a talent pipeline rooted in local universities while scaling globally relevant expertise.

Will VergeCloud roll out any rural digitisation programs or cloud adoption campaigns for small businesses and MSMEs in the region?

Our Rural Cloud Adoption Program is designed for small businesses and MSMEs. It includes: Starter CDN bundles for local companies with basic caching and SSL. Security-first onboarding to shield SMEs from botnet-driven disruptions.

Workshops in vernacular to demystify cloud adoption. “The objective is to democratise access to world-class digital infrastructure, enabling not just India’s grassroots economy but also emerging markets worldwide to participate fully in the digital revolution.”

What role does vernacular content, regional language AI/ML models, or local tech talent play in VergeCloud’s regional plans?

We view vernacular AI/ML as the next significant inflexion point. For India’s 600 M+ non-English internet users, cloud platforms must natively support regional language processing, recommendation engines, and security alerts.

Local tech talent is central here. By combining AI-native models trained on Telugu, Hindi, and other Indian languages with local engineers, we ensure that solutions are built by India and are scalable globally.

Where do you see VergeCloud in the next 2–3 years across India, and what would success look like for the brand during this period?

In the next 2–3 years, VergeCloud will be India’s #1 edge-native CDN & security platform, with 100+ PoPs and 20+ in India. A trusted partner for BFSI, OTT, SaaS, and public sector digitisation. Ours is a launchpad for global expansion, taking the India-first model to Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

Our aim is to achieve latency below 30 ms across India, regulatory-first trust, and becoming the default cloud edge choice for every Indian enterprise.

Is there a vision to establish strategic R&D or innovation hubs within India to support VergeCloud’s long-term growth and technology roadmap?

Yes. VergeCloud’s long-term roadmap includes establishing R&D hubs in Hyderabad and Bengaluru focused on next-gen security (AI-driven Zero Trust, bot management and API Security). Edge computing frameworks for IoT, gaming, and fintech.

Data-sovereignty compliance engines for BFSI and government workloads. As AI-native companies emerge, they’ll need networks that learn and adapt in real-time. Our edge-native CDN is already evolving to support that future.

By embedding R&D in India, we ensure global innovation built on Indian soil, supporting both national sovereignty and international competitiveness.

India’s digital edge must be sovereign, secure, and globally benchmarked. VergeCloud’s journey—from Hyderabad to the world—demonstrates how an India-born company can engineer trust-driven infrastructure that meets the dual imperatives of compliance and performance.

By combining sub-30 ms latency, AI-driven security, and edge-native architectures, we are proving that secure performance can be the default foundation for enterprises and emerging markets alike.