Cloudera has announced the next phase of its partnership with global humanitarian organization Mercy Corps through the launch of Verified Evidence & Research Assistant (VERA), an agentic AI solution designed to improve humanitarian research, crisis analysis, and decision-making. Built using Cloudera AI Studios on Amazon Web Services (AWS) and powered by Anthropic's Claude models, VERA helps humanitarian teams transform large volumes of data into actionable insights for faster emergency response.
VERA marks the latest milestone in a collaboration between Cloudera and Mercy Corps that began nearly two and a half years ago. Rather than serving as a general-purpose AI application, the platform was designed specifically for humanitarian operations through close collaboration between Cloudera's Professional Services & Training team and Mercy Corps subject matter experts.
Built on Cloudera AI Studios using AWS infrastructure and Anthropic's Claude models, VERA automates research tasks, aggregates information from multiple sources, and produces localized analyses that support humanitarian decision-making in rapidly evolving situations.
According to Cloudera, the AI system uses agentic workflows grounded in humanitarian themes, enabling responsible and context-aware responses tailored to operational requirements.
VERA has already been deployed across multiple humanitarian initiatives, including agricultural and food security analysis in Sudan, election security reporting in Colombia, and disease outbreak monitoring across Central and East Africa.
The organizations report significant operational improvements from these deployments. Security report preparation for Mercy Corps teams in Colombia has been reduced by up to 90%, while research and desk analysis for Sudan-related reporting has decreased from five or six days to approximately two or three days.
The platform has also generated estimated cost savings of around $2,000 per security report in Colombia and approximately $1,500 for each Sudan analysis report. According to the organizations, these efficiencies allow humanitarian teams to expand reporting capacity while dedicating more time to validating insights and supporting field operations.
“Humanitarian organizations are being asked to do more with less while responding to increasingly complex global crises. With VERA, we are demonstrating how agentic AI can move beyond experimentation to deliver measurable, real-world impact. This work with Mercy Corps shows what is possible when advanced AI capabilities are paired with deep domain expertise and a shared commitment to improving outcomes for vulnerable communities. As the leader of Professional Services & Training, it's critical that we bring our outcome-focused delivery methodology to every engagement, ensuring we are not just implementing technology, but helping organizations achieve meaningful, measurable business and mission outcomes.” Jim Bisordi, Senior Vice President of Professional Services, Cloudera
Unlike generic AI applications, VERA was developed through extensive business analysis and continuous collaboration with humanitarian practitioners. This approach helped ensure that generated outputs align with real-world humanitarian workflows and operational requirements.
By automating secondary research and consolidating information from diverse sources, VERA enables humanitarian professionals to focus on interpreting findings and making informed decisions rather than spending significant time collecting and organizing information.
“We see VERA as an important future tool for conducting research and secondary data reviews. Tasks that once required extensive manual effort can now be completed in a fraction of the time, while our teams focus on interpreting and validating outputs. In Sudan, for example, getting food security analysis into our teams' hands sooner contributes to an improved response for communities facing food insecurity.” Josh DeWald, Vice President, Technical Support, Evidence and Program Quality, Mercy Corps
Beyond delivering technology, Cloudera has positioned itself as an implementation partner by providing AI expertise, technical resources, and ongoing support throughout the project's development.
As Mercy Corps continues integrating VERA into additional research and reporting workflows, both organizations expect further improvements in reporting quality, operational efficiency, and access to critical information for teams responding to humanitarian crises around the world.
About Cloudera
Cloudera is the only hybrid data and AI platform company that large organizations trust to bring AI to their data anywhere it lives. Unlike other providers, Cloudera delivers a consistent cloud experience that converges public clouds, on-prem data centers, and the edge, leveraging a proven open-source foundation. As the pioneer in big data, Cloudera empowers businesses to apply AI and assert control over 100% of their data, in all forms, improving security, governance, and real-time and predictive insights. The world’s largest brands across all industries rely on Cloudera to transform decision-making and ultimately boost bottom lines, safeguard against threats, and save lives.
To learn more, visit Cloudera.com and follow us on LinkedIn and X. © 2026 Cloudera and associated marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cloudera, Inc. All other company and product names are trademarks of their respective owners.
About Mercy Corps
Mercy Corps is a global team of nearly 4,300 humanitarians working to create a world where everyone can prosper. 95% of our team members are from the countries where they work. In 46 countries affected by conflict, disaster, poverty, and climate change, we work alongside communities, local governments, forward-thinking corporations, and social entrepreneurs to meet urgent needs and develop long-term solutions to make lasting change possible. In 2025, Mercy Corps reached over 36.5 million people.
