FortyTwo Labs, a firm promoted by Israel-based cyber security experts and Pune-based entrepreneurs, will set up a global cyber security research centre in Visakhapatnam in collaboration with the AP Electronics & IT Agency (APEITA).
The company has signed an MoU with the State government. It has been allotted space at the Incubation Tower at Rushikonda IT Special Economic Zone.
APEITA CEO V. Srinivasa Moorthy has told The Hindu that the R&D lab will be the first of its kind in India. It will transform Vizag into a cyber security cluster in a few years by creating new technologies and devices to combat cyber criminals. FortyTwo Labs is a technology innovation lab with focus on developing cutting-edge disruptive technologies in the field of cyber security and financial technology (Fintech). Co-founder and partner Menny Barzilay, who is a reputed cyber security expert from Israel, is heading FortyTwo Labs. He has said the firm will work towards developing next generation cyber security products for India to take forward the vision of ‘Make in India’ to ‘Made in India’.The cluster is expected to be the home for start-ups, research labs, venture capitalists, academic institutes and multinationals.
Co-founder Sanjay Deshpande said they had chosen Vizag to set up the global centre due to the strategic importance of the city and the ease of doing business provided by the government. “I strongly believe that the Indo-Israel collaboration in the field of cyber security will benefit young entrepreneurs, government and defence organisations in both the countries.”
The initiative will make Vizag a hub for cyber security technologies.
Ravi Eswarapu
President of IT Association
of AP