Zscaler has expanded its AI-Guardian initiative to include technology alliance partners, adding cloud, AI and infrastructure groups to a programme that previously centred on global systems integrators.
The expanded group includes AWS, CoreWeave, Databricks, Deep Cogito, Equinix, Glean, Google Cloud, OpenAI, Saviynt, Coforge and NTT DATA. They join existing systems integration partners Cognizant, EY, HCLTech, Infosys, TCS and Wipro.
The project is intended to tie Zscaler's Zero Trust Exchange platform and AI Protect portfolio more closely to third-party tools used across enterprise AI environments. Zscaler is seeking deeper interoperability across identity, applications, data, cloud infrastructure and AI services as businesses widen their use of generative AI, agentic systems and AI-enabled software.
At the centre of the plan is a model in which partner products exchange security signals with Zscaler's platform. Its AI Access Graph maps how identities, applications, agents and data connect to AI services, while risk modelling is designed to identify and measure AI-related exposure across an organisation.
Partner systems will both contribute to and act on those signals, allowing information gathered in one platform to trigger policy enforcement in another. By brokering interactions through the Zero Trust Exchange, access checks and data inspection can take place during use rather than after the event.
Partner roles
The announcement reflects a broader push by security suppliers to position themselves as coordinators of AI governance rather than providers of isolated controls. As companies adopt more AI services from different vendors, security teams are often left stitching together separate monitoring, identity and data tools that do not share context.
Zscaler presented the expansion as a response to that fragmentation, arguing that customers want a common control layer for AI interactions without having to build and maintain numerous integrations between separate products.
The areas highlighted include policy controls for AI applications and development environments, data protection for prompts and model training inputs, and visibility across what Zscaler described as an organisation's full AI footprint. That footprint includes shadow AI applications, model interfaces and cloud-hosted infrastructure.
Dhawal Sharma, Executive Vice President, AI Security and Strategic Initiatives at Zscaler, outlined the company's rationale for broadening the programme.
“AI is creating enormous opportunities for organizations, but it is also reshaping the threat across the security and governance landscape,” Sharma said.
“Securing AI is an ecosystem effort. With the expansion of Project AI-Guardian through our technology alliance partners, Zscaler is helping customers extend zero trust across enterprise AI interactions so they can adopt AI faster while maintaining the visibility, control, and data protection they need to innovate securely,” he added.
Industry backing
Several partners outlined how they expect the arrangement to fit with their own products and services. CoreWeave focused on AI infrastructure security, while Databricks pointed to customer demand for routing security data into its environment.
“As enterprises move AI into production, the attack surface expands at the infrastructure level, beyond just the application layer," said Jim Higgins, Chief Information Security Officer at CoreWeave. "CoreWeave's security is built from the silicon up, and working with Zscaler through Project AI-Guardian means customers will be able to enforce zero trust access controls at every layer of their AI stack, from compute to agent interaction.”
“Customers consistently tell us they want to route their security data to their Databricks environment and extend their existing security vendor protections to our platform. Our partnership with Zscaler delivers on both fronts. By ingesting Zscaler logs into Databricks and collaborating on Project AI-Guardian, we are helping joint customers safely accelerate their AI initiatives without creating new security silos,” said Stephen Orban, Senior Vice President, Product Partnerships & Ecosystem at Databricks.
Identity and governance also featured prominently in partner comments. Saviynt described AI security as rooted in identity management, while Glean pointed to the need to control how enterprise knowledge is used inside AI workflows.
“AI security is an identity problem first. Zscaler stops threats in motion; Saviynt governs the identities behind them. Together, we give enterprises the control plane they need to adopt AI without losing visibility or governance,” said Vibhuti Sinha, Chief Product Officer at Saviynt.
“Scaling enterprise AI safely requires both trusted business context and a security ecosystem that can govern how that context is accessed and used,” said Sunil Agrawal, Chief Information Security Officer at Glean. “Glean helps organizations bring secure, permissions-aware enterprise knowledge directly into AI workflows, and Zscaler's Project AI-Guardian provides an important framework for extending visibility, control, and protection across those interactions. Together, we're helping customers move AI from experimentation to impact while giving security teams greater confidence as adoption scales.”
OpenAI linked the work to enterprise risk management and the use of AI in cyber defence. Its comments suggest technology developers and security vendors are trying to define shared governance models as AI becomes more deeply embedded in corporate systems.
“As AI becomes an increasingly important tool for cybersecurity, organizations need systems that are not only capable, but secure, reliable, and aligned with the realities of enterprise risk management. Through our partnership with Zscaler and initiatives like Trusted Access for Cyber and Project AI-Guardian, we're advancing a shared commitment to deploying AI responsibly-combining frontier capabilities with rigorous safeguards, transparency, and human oversight. Together, we're helping security teams strengthen their defenses while building confidence in the safe adoption of AI across the enterprise,” said Scott Rosecrans, Vice President, Strategic Pursuits at OpenAI.