- Travelport, Cognizant and Anthropic are building an AI travel ecosystem to modernize how travel technology is built, tested and maintained
- Together they are closing the critical gap in AI-driven travel: connecting systems that can reason and plan with platforms that can actually transact
TEANECK, N.J., May 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) is working with Travelport on a strategic AI transformation that will deploy Anthropic's Claude to modernize the way Travelport builds, tests and maintains software across its travel retailing and distribution platforms. The collaboration aims to accelerate the delivery of AI-led innovation to airlines, hoteliers, travel management companies and online travel agencies worldwide, while embedding AI features within Travelport's platform.
Booking systems built for a previous era now strain to keep up: agency costs have grown as human agents increasingly piece together complex itineraries manually, and a gap has opened between how travelers now search using AI tools and what current platforms can interpret and fulfill. This collaboration will address these structural challenges through intelligent infrastructure designed to close the gap between AI-driven travel intent and a confirmed booking.
For travel agencies and travel management companies (TMC), Travelport's platform will absorb more of the cognitive work agents currently do manually, including surfacing relevant options faster, automating exchanges and rebooking, and embedding disruption intelligence into workflows. For example, an agent managing a business traveler could surface routes with statistically lower disruption risk. Travelport's customers indicate that saving even one hour per agent per day across a large TMC translates into millions of dollars in annual productivity improvement.
For online travel agencies, the challenge is structural: travelers increasingly use AI tools to plan trips, but transactional systems cannot interpret the richness of their intent. Travelport's MCP-based architecture will allow conversational traveler requests to translate directly into confirmed bookings with live availability, converting that capability gap into a real commercial opportunity."
The travel industry runs on some of the most complex technology infrastructure in the world, and the companies that will lead it forward are the ones investing now in how that infrastructure gets built," said Ravi Kumar S, CEO of Cognizant. "This collaboration is about giving Travelport the tools to move faster and deliver higher quality at scale to meet the challenge of a changing travel distribution landscape. That's what the AI Builder model is designed to do."
"AI is not a future consideration, it is happening now, and the companies that move fastest and most intelligently will define the next era of travel technology," said John Mangelaars, CEO of Travelport. "Collaborating with Cognizant and Anthropic gives us a genuine AI superpower. Anthropic brings the most capable AI models and tools; Cognizant adds engineering talent and development capability to deploy them at scale; and Travelport brings the travel infrastructure and the partner network that connects it all to the real world of distribution and bookings.
"Anthropic also developed MCP, the protocol that lets AI agents interact directly with external systems and data," Mangelaars added. "Choosing the organization that invented that protocol was a straightforward decision. Their approach to safety, reliability and controllability matters as much: travel is a high-trust environment where data is sensitive and the consequences of errors are real."
This is not a limited pilot. The ambition is to work with Cognizant and Anthropic to transform how Travelport builds at scale. The initial focus is Travelport Trip Services, the platform that handles bookings, exchanges, refunds and servicing, with the MCP-based interface layer above it. The work is being built on Travelport's cloud-native platform, with a major release imminent. The first customer-facing capabilities are expected to reach market this year.
"What Travelport aims to do with Cognizant reflects what modernization can look like in a complex industry. Reasoning across large, complex codebases is where Claude is at its best — and that's exactly what travel infrastructure demands. We're proud to support Cognizant as a trusted partner in bringing Claude to more enterprises," said Rich O'Connell, Head of Alliances, Anthropic.
Cognizant integrates Claude within its engineering platforms and delivery processes, including Neuro-san, the open-source library behind Cognizant's Neuro® AI multi-agent accelerator. Claude will power AI-assisted code development, test creation and pull-request review. Its large context window analyzes Travelport's codebases and surfaces embedded business logic at scale, one of the most technically demanding elements of enterprise modernization. Together, these capabilities are expected to meaningfully reduce Travelport's software delivery cycle times.
The work with Travelport reflects Cognizant's AI Builder strategy: bringing industry context, end-to-end systems integration and day-to-day operational accountability to help enterprises move from AI experimentation to production at scale. Anthropic is a nodal partner within Cognizant's global AI ecosystem, and this work extends the strategic partnership between Cognizant and Anthropic that was announced in November 2025.
About Cognizant
Cognizant (Nasdaq: CTSH) is an AI Builder and technology services provider, bridging the gap between AI investment and enterprise value by building full-stack AI solutions for our clients. Our deep industry, process and engineering expertise enables us to build an organization's unique context into technology systems that amplify human potential, drive tangible outcomes and keep global enterprises ahead in a fast-changing world. See how at www.cognizant.ai or @cognizant.
About Travelport
Travelport is the intelligent infrastructure travel provider that powers bookings for hundreds of thousands of travel suppliers worldwide. Ranked First from 160 Travel Software Suppliers (G2 Survey December 2025). Headquartered in London, United Kingdom, Travelport operates in more than 165 countries. For more information, visit www.travelport.com.
For more information, contact:
| U.S. Name Ben Gorelick Email benjamin.gorelick@cognizant.com | | Europe / APAC Name Sarah Douglas Email sarah.douglas@cognizant.com | | India Name Vipin Nair Email Vipin.nair@cognizant.com |
| |
| Travelport media contact: |
| Phil Pitt |
| Philip.Pitt@travelport.com |
U.S.
Name Ben Gorelick
Email benjamin.gorelick@cognizant.com
Europe / APAC
Name Sarah Douglas
Email sarah.douglas@cognizant.com
India
Name Vipin Nair
Email Vipin.nair@cognizant.com
Travelport media contact:
Phil Pitt
Philip.Pitt@travelport.com
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Travelport, Cognizant and Anthropic Collaborate to Power Travel Technology for the AI Era
Asia-Pacific's first Broadband Development Summit brings regulators and operators to Bangkok to set the agenda
BANGKOK, July 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Government officials, standards bodies and telecom operators gathered in Bangkok on 14 July for the inaugural Broadband Development Summit APAC 2026, convened by the World Broadband Association (WBBA) to build consensus on AI-era networks.
Participants included the ITU, Thailand's National Board of the Digital Economy and Society, WBBA, IAB, FNCAP, WAA, NIDA and the IPv6 Council, alongside operators Telkomsel, XLSmart, Surge, Globe, AIS, CMI and HKT and Huawei.
Denny Deng, President of Huawei Asia Pacific Carrier Business, envisions a "faster, smarter, greener" Asia-Pacific.
VOICES FROM THE SUMMIT
"To seize the opportunities of the AI era, we call on the industry to accelerate broadband evolution, advance computing-network synergy, and strengthen the cross-border connectivity. Together, let us build faster, smarter, and greener digital infrastructure for Asia-Pacific."
— Denny Deng, President of Asia Pacific Carrier Business, Huawei
"High-speed broadband is no longer just about 'getting online' — it is the vital infrastructure upon which the entire AI revolution is being built. We view AI not merely as a tool, but as a primary engine for national competitiveness and a catalyst for improving the quality of life for all."
— Wetang Phuangsup, Ph.D., Secretary-General, the National Board of the Digital Economy and Society, Thailand
"Three initiatives define the road to 2030. We must close the quality divide so the value of broadband reaches everyone. We must build AI-ready networks — 10G access, 800GE cores, intelligence end to end. And we must do it together, through shared standards."
— Martin Creaner, Director General of WBBA
"Moving towards next-generation networks, network architectures must continue to evolve to deliver broader connectivity, superior quality, enhanced security, and greater intelligence. This evolution is essential for Net5.5G, positioning the network not simply as infrastructure, but as the foundation that enables AI, strengthens resilience and efficiency, and supports digital transformation across industries."
— Dhruv Dhody, Industry Standardization Expert at Huawei, Chair of the IAB, IETF
"Across Asia-Pacific, fibre is extending beyond homes and offices into rooms, devices, and machines. By working together, we can accelerate fibre innovation and adoption to build truly AI-ready infrastructure."
— Ilham Nandana, Chair of the Market Intelligence Committee, Fiber Network Council APAC (FNCAP)
"We fixed it before you feel it! AIS is redefining premium home broadband by combining ultra-fast connectivity with AI-driven network intelligence and smart home ecosystem — delivering proactive, invisible service excellence that transforms connectivity into differentiated customer value and sustainable ARPU growth."
— Thanit Chaiyaboonthanit, Head of Technology Department, Broadband Business, AIS
"Connecting the Unconnected: Affordable Broadband at Scale. Create equal access to global information and empower Indonesia's digital society."
— Shannedy Ong, CTO of Surge Indonesia
"Beyond Connectivity: Telkomsel is transforming into a true value creator. By leveraging our FBB market-leading footprint, we power growth through service excellence, customer loyalty, and a next-generation home ecosystem."
— Stanislaus Susatyo, Director of Sales, Telkomsel Indonesia
"We stopped treating AI as an add-on feature. Instead, our approach at Globe starts with architecture, embedding intelligence into the very core of how we build, how we sell, and how we operate.
AI continuously monitors network health, customer behavior and service quality. Rather than waiting for failures, the system predicts degradation and initiates corrective actions. By maintaining minute-level awareness of network health, our systems automatically resolve 30% of all Wi-Fi issues without any human intervention."
— Danny Theseira, Head of Broadband Business Group at Globe Telecom
"Huawei is driving the Optics-AI Synergy to foster their collaborative growth. Through AI-ON, operators could build an AI-centric all-optical target network and establish 1-5-20ms latency circles across the Asia Pacific region. AI-ON also supports efficient computing access and usage while delivering an ultimate network experience through gigabit/ultra-gigabit home broadband, accelerating the widespread adoption of AI services."
— Kim Jin, Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer Optical Business Product Line, Huawei
"Connectivity is not just about technology. It is a lifeline, a platform for opportunity, and a driver of sustainable development. I believe the intersection of connectivity and artificial intelligence will shape the future of smarter, more resilient networks."
— Dr. Cosmas Zavazava, Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau, ITU
"Performance and user experience are the essential path to the next-generation WLAN. Based on standards and AI-driven innovation, let's jointly explore the path to the future autonomous WLAN with all the stakeholders."
— Dr. Crane H. Yang, Secretary-General, World WLAN Application Alliance (WAA)
"At the summit, NIDA and WBBA signed an MOU to accelerate next-generation network evolution and establish pioneering smart city benchmarks through the co-development of industry standards, the harmonization of global regulations, and the sharing of vertical industry insights.
NIDA focuses on advancing network architecture standards, while WBBA drives global consensus on broadband evolution. This natural strategic complementarity creates vast opportunities for future collaboration."
— Joey Deng, Secretary-General of NIDA
"ION-2030 develops the global standard for next generation optical networks in the AI era. It provides exceptional AI application and service experience. The WBBA and ITU will jointly accelerate its development, and this is a unique opportunity for Asia-Pacific stakeholders to actively influence the future of optical broadband networks."
— Dr. Marcus Brunner, Chief Expert Standardization, WBBA WG1 Chair and Vice-Chair of ETSI ISG F5G
"The transition into the AI era demands a high-quality, deterministic digital foundation. By releasing Net5.5G policy guidelines, Malaysia is accelerating the evolution of next-generation network standards based on IPv6, establishing an innovative infrastructure to unleash AI's value and drive a prosperous digital economy for 2030."
— Prof. Sureswaran Ramadass, Chair of APAC at IPv6 Council, Industry Partner of WBBA
"The digital economy is thriving across the Asia-Pacific region, with AI emerging as a core catalyst for intelligent transformation. China Mobile International (CMI) is driving regional growth by integrating China's advanced AI capabilities with comprehensive communications, computing, and AI services. Moving forward, CMI will collaborate closely with industry partners to foster a shared, AI-driven future for the region."
— Paul Lin, Managing Director of Commercial and Technology, Asia Pacific, China Mobile International
"Next-generation network infrastructure is the oxygen of the intelligent economy. By integrating cutting-edge 800G connectivity with quantum-safe security, HKT is laying the essential foundations to keep Hong Kong's enterprises highly competitive, secure, and ready for the computing paradigm shifts of tomorrow."
— Wilson Cheung, Vice President, Broadband Design & Cyber Security, HKT
"The evolution toward Net5.5G AI WAN is an important step in strengthening XLSMART's transport network for the future. By progressively adopting AI-assisted operations, SRv6, SDN, service differentiation, and higher-capacity transport infrastructure, we are enhancing network intelligence, operational efficiency, and service resilience while supporting long-term sustainability. This transformation is a continuous journey that aligns with the industry's vision of AI-native broadband networks. Through collaboration with our technology partners and the broader ecosystem, we will continue to develop capabilities that deliver better network performance and support Indonesia's growing digital connectivity needs."
— Regie Ginanjar, Head of Transport Autonomy & Orchestration, Transport Network Transformation, XLSMART
"For the AI era, Huawei upgrades the IP bearer network via security resilience, multi-dimensional awareness, and network autonomy. This empowers carriers to guarantee service experience, accelerate monetization, and enhance efficiency, ushering in a new chapter of intelligent connectivity."
— Arthur Wang, Vice President of Data Communication Product Line, Huawei
A CONVERGING VIEW
Speakers agreed AI is shifting networks from connectivity to intelligent connectivity, as broadband, IP, computing and cross-border infrastructure converge to support innovation and coordination.
WBBA launched the AI-Net Certification, a global benchmark for national policy, industrial ecosystems and network intelligence. XLSmart was named first AI-Net Champion, and Indonesia was among the first with a certified operator, backed by its Net5.5G roadmap.
In another high-profile segment, WBBA Director General Martin Creaner presented the Gigacity Certification to KOMDIGI, SURGE, Telkomsel, AIS, TRUE, HKT and Globe, recognizing regional broadband pioneers.
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AI-Powered Connectivity: APAC Charts a Path to a Smarter Digital Future
AI-Powered Connectivity: APAC Charts a Path to a Smarter Digital Future
