Nonprofit Prosper Global Says Agentic AI System VERA Cut Crisis Research Time in Half in Sudan
Prosper Global reports that VERA, a multi-agent system built with Cloudera, significantly reduced research cycles and costs in conflict zones like Sudan and Colombia.
Aaron Eubank, Director of Data Science at Prosper Global (formerly Mercy Corps), stated at the EVOLVE26 conference that the organization's multi-agent research engine, VERA, has shown potential to accelerate crisis response research in conflict zones. Built in partnership with big data company Cloudera, the system is designed to provide analysts with a faster starting point rather than automating the entire research process, ensuring researchers retain agency.
According to Eubank, VERA leverages Cloudera AI Studios, Amazon Web Services infrastructure, and models from Anthropic to pull information from sources such as ReliefWeb, the ACLED conflict tracker, and local news. In Sudan, the time required for desk research on an agricultural report was reduced from five or six days to two, saving approximately $1,500. In Colombia, an employee with no security background produced an election security report in just a few hours.
Launched in June 2026, VERA is also active in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ukraine. Eubank noted that risks and contexts vary by location, necessitating a measured and slow approach. These specific metrics are self-reported by Prosper Global and have not been independently verified.