In a landmark moment for Indian innovation, Kolkata witnessed the global launch of NamAIste – the world’s first GPT exclusively for the hospitality industry. Developed in the spirit of Viksit Bharat and Make in India, this AI marvel was introduced at the IIHM Global Campus by Dr Suborno Bose, Chairman of IIHM and a known AI evangelist.
“The industry is ready to accept it. The industry is waiting. It’s a global mind changer. It is not just a tech marvel but a dawn of a new way of thinking and the dawn of reimagining things.” — Dr. Suborno Bose
What is NamAIste?
Unlike generic GPTs, NamAIste – IIHM Hospitality GPT is a customised Large Language Model (LLM) built to cater solely to the hospitality sector. It goes beyond chatbot functionality, serving as a vast knowledge engine with access to global insights, research, best practices, and hospitality trends from over 60 countries.
Built in India, for the world
Crafted in collaboration with Entiovi Technologies, NamAIste is built entirely on open-source tech and tailored to empower students, professionals, and educators alike.
“The uniqueness of NamAIste is not technology. The whole platform is built on open-source. The uniqueness is creating the knowledge base from 60 countries… Imagine a student in Bengal writing a question about Japanese culinary history and the answer coming from Japanese documents in Bengali.” — Sanjoy Chatterjee, Director, Entiovi Technologies
A global leap for Indian innovation
The event saw participation from hospitality leaders, educators, chefs, and CEOs across continents. NamAIste was lauded as India’s answer to the likes of Google and DeepSeek, reflecting the country’s rise as a tech innovator.
“It is an engine of innovation, excellence, and a bold announcement that India is at par with the best in the world… If the US can have Google, and China can have DeepSeek, India can — and now does — have NamAIste.” — Dr Suborno Bose
Human-first, AI-assisted
Despite its tech-forward approach, NamAIste doesn’t replace the human heart of hospitality. It is designed to support, not supplant, the people behind the service.
“AI cannot change the human factor. Our industry is a people industry… AI will assist this to ensure that we rise to the customer’s expectations purposefully.” — Dr Suborno Bose
Key benefits of NamAIste
- Transforms hospitality education with real-time insights
- Supports data-driven decision making
- Provides instant access to SOPs and global best practices
- Empowers faculty, students, and professionals with multilingual support
A gift to global hospitality
As IIHM campuses across India celebrated the launch, the significance of this innovation became clear. It is not just a tool—it is India’s gift to the global hospitality industry, bridging education and industry with AI.
“We do not teach our students hospitality management. We teach them the business of hospitality.” — Dr. Suborno Bose
