Why Theom Chose Hyderabad for Its India Expansion

Hyderabad has added another global technology player to its growing innovation landscape, with AI and data security company Theom launching its India operations in the city. The move signals the increasing importance of Hyderabad as a destination for companies building next-generation cybersecurity and artificial intelligence solutions.

For Theom, the decision was shaped by a combination of infrastructure, talent and the city’s evolving reputation as a cybersecurity hub.

“One of the primary reasons for choosing Hyderabad is the infrastructure the city provides and the sophisticated talent ecosystem available here,” says Navindra Yadav, Co-founder and CEO of Theom. He further adds, “The city has strong AI capabilities, access to cloud expertise and a growing cybersecurity community. All of that aligns closely with what we are building.”

As enterprises increasingly shift their focus from securing networks to securing data itself, Navindra believes Hyderabad offers a talent base that understands the changing nature of cybersecurity.

“There are already many cybersecurity companies in Hyderabad. While several of them focus on traditional perimeter-based security, data is now the new perimeter. The expertise available here in areas such as real-time detection and cyber resilience helps us build systems that can protect both data and AI-driven environments.”

The company’s Hyderabad centre will play a significant role in developing what it describes as an AI-driven software development lifecycle. The idea is not to replace engineers with artificial intelligence, but to make them more productive by automating repetitive tasks and allowing them to focus on higher-value work.

“What we are building is a new form of software development where AI operates under human control,” Navindra explains. “AI helps us with mundane tasks, while engineers focus on the more intellectual and creative aspects of development. Every stage is validated and supervised by humans.”

At a time when concerns about AI replacing jobs continue to dominate industry conversations, Navindra argues that the technology should be viewed as an enabler rather than a threat.

“We are actually proving that protecting AI and data cannot be done by AI alone,” he says, adding, “Humans remain critical to building these systems. AI augments our teams and helps every engineer become significantly more productive. This is similar to what happened when the internet arrived. Productivity increased, but people adapted and learned new skills.”

The Hyderabad office will work closely with Theom’s headquarters in the United States, contributing to product development and engineering initiatives for customers across global markets. According to Navindra, solving security challenges requires diverse perspectives and local expertise spread across geographies.

As a startup operating in a highly competitive space, productivity remains central to Theom’s growth strategy.

“We want every engineer to be highly productive, and AI is helping us achieve that. Our customers are global, and their challenges require global thinking. Hyderabad gives us access to talent that can contribute meaningfully to that mission.”

The company plans to maintain a relatively flat organisational structure. Employees joining the Hyderabad centre will typically enter as members of the technical staff, with opportunities to progress through leadership roles based on ownership, delivery and impact.

“People grow by taking responsibility and leading outcomes,” he says. “Teams are organised into pods that work across geographies, and leadership opportunities emerge naturally as people demonstrate capability.”

The company’s name itself reflects its philosophy. Inspired by “Om”, often described as the sound of the universe, Theom draws a parallel with the role of data in modern enterprises.

“Just as ‘Om’ is believed to permeate everything, data today flows through every part of an organisation,” Navindra explains. “We wanted to build a security fabric that extends wherever data travels. That’s where the inspiration for Theom came from,” he adds.

With its India operations now underway, Theom’s Hyderabad presence adds to the city’s growing credentials as a centre for AI innovation, cybersecurity expertise and global product development.