INTERNATIONAL. Industry data and analytics specialist tRetail Labs has announced a strategic partnership with CobuildX AI to expand its AI capabilities for airports, travel retail, F&B, lounges, airlines, cruise operators, tourism organisations and destinations worldwide.
The partnership combines tRetail Labs’ expertise in travel retail, airport hospitality, behavioural science and traveller intelligence with CobuildX AI’s advanced enterprise AI capabilities.
Founded by AI leaders Sairaam Varadarajan and Sudalai Rajkumar, CobuildX AI brings expertise in enterprise AI engineering and agentic AI systems.
The partners said they are creating “one of the industry’s most comprehensive AI ecosystems, spanning strategy, agentic AI, digital humans, intelligent automation, behavioural analytics and operational optimisation”.
The collaboration builds upon tRetail Labs’ growing portfolio of initiatives, including the Airport F&B Manifesto 2035, the Travel F&B Fit (TFF) Diagnostic Lens, the Airport F&B Pathfinders Committee (APC), its strategic collaboration with The Culinary Institute of America through the globally recognised Menus of Change initiative, and nrtureAI, tRetail Labs’ AI-powered traveller intelligence platform.
As part of the partnership, CobuildX AI will play a strategic role in the continued evolution of nrtureAI, bringing its AI engineering expertise, enterprise architecture, agentic AI and intelligent automation capabilities to strengthen the platform for the global travel and tourism industry.
Together, said tRetail Labs, these initiatives create an end-to-end transformation pathway for the industry. The Travel F&B Fit (TFF) Diagnostic Lens helps organisations identify opportunities across traveller wellbeing, hospitality, sustainability and commercial performance.
Menus of Change provides a globally recognised roadmap for creating healthier and more sustainable food environments. nrtureAI measures post implementation impact through traveller conversations, behavioural intelligence, sentiment analysis and experience analytics.
The partnership with CobuildX AI enables organisations to move “from diagnosis to transformation and continuous optimisation” through enterprise grade AI.
tRetail Labs Founder & CEO Sushanta Das said: “AI is rapidly becoming the operating system of the travel and tourism industry. Through our collaboration with The Culinary Institute of America, Menus of Change, the Travel F&B Fit Diagnostic Lens, nrtureAI, and now our strategic partnership with CobuildX AI, we are bringing together research, behavioural science, and some of the world’s leading AI minds into a single innovation ecosystem.
“Our ambition is to help airports, travel retailers, hospitality operators, airlines, cruise lines and tourism organisations confidently navigate the next era of intelligent transformation.”
Sudalai Rajkumar said: “Over the past 16 years, I have had the opportunity to develop AI and advanced analytics solutions for leading global organisations, including many of the world’s foremost retailers and consumer businesses.
“One lesson has remained constant: the greatest value comes when world class AI is combined with deep industry expertise. That is what makes this partnership with tRetail Labs so compelling.
“Together, we are bringing enterprise AI, behavioural intelligence, and research driven innovation to help shape the next generation of solutions for the global travel and tourism industry.”
Sairaam Varadarajan added: “The true potential within travel and tourism lies in evolving beyond mere AI application toward becoming fundamentally AI-native.
“By integrating CobuildX AI’s enterprise-grade agentic systems with the profound domain specialisation of tRetail Labs, we are empowering the industry to transition from fragmented experimentation to enterprise-wide transformation that scales effectively.”
The partners said they shared a vision that the future of travel and tourism “will not be defined by isolated AI applications, but by connected ecosystems where research, behavioural science, hospitality expertise and AI work together to improve traveller experiences, operational excellence and commercial performance”.
For partnership enquiries relating to nrtureAI, or the expanded AI services offered through the tRetail Labs and CobuildX AI partnership, please contact Sushanta Das at sushanta.das@tretaillabs.com
*The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) and research and intelligence firm tRetail Labs have jointly struck a Silver Partnership for the highly anticipated Airport Food & Beverage (FAB) + Hospitality Conference & Awards, which takes place in Bengaluru on 7-8 July. Click here for more. 
