VAIV RELEASED: A WTA & HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL AI INSTITUTE COLLABORATION

Since 2025, Western Technology Alliance (WTA) has been working closely with the Harvard Business School AI Institute on Vaiv, an AI-powered business problem solver grounded in Harvard research.

Vaiv brings together the rigor of Harvard’s case method and research with generative AI to help leaders work through complex business challenges. Its aim is to strengthen human judgment by helping people organize a problem, consider relevant evidence, and identify practical next steps.

WTA supports the technical work behind that experience. Our collaboration includes developing scalable data pipelines, building and evaluating machine learning models, integrating APIs and third-party tools, and prototyping AI-driven capabilities for chat, personalization, content recommendations, and search. We also help test and refine those capabilities for accuracy, performance, and scale.

Turning operational challenges into workable AI systems

A central part of our work is translating operational pain points into clear architecture, scoped automation roadmaps, and delivery plans. That means understanding how people work today, where processes break down, and how AI can help while keeping systems manageable.

For workflow modernization, we help replace brittle, difficult-to-audit automation with structured processes that combine deterministic checks, AI analysis, approval gates, and human review. The goal is to make automation more reliable and easier to oversee, while involving people where judgment or additional review is needed.

We also work across security, governance, operations, and engineering teams to align requirements and design reusable automation platforms. These platforms can include analytics, configurable workflows, and auditability, giving organizations a clearer view of how processes operate and where they can improve.

Supporting pilots with Microsoft Frontier Firm partners

The Harvard Business School AI Institute is collaborating with Microsoft and its Frontier Firm partners to study how organizations are embedding AI into their work. WTA supports that effort and works closely with the Institute and participating organizations as they pilot Vaiv.

The initiative’s inaugural cohort includes Barclays, BNY, Clifford Chance, DuPont, Eaton, Eli Lilly and Company, EY, GHD, Kantar, Levi Strauss & Co., Lumen Technologies, Mastercard, Nestlé, and other organizations embarking on the path to become Frontier Firms.

This work connects product development with practical questions organizations face as they bring AI into their operations: how people and AI should work together, what processes need to change, and how to build trust through clear oversight. It is part of the Institute’s Frontier Firm AI Initiative, which explores human-AI work and develops practical guidance from applied research.

Building AI around the work people need to do

Vaiv reflects an approach WTA brings to AI engagements: start with the business problem, build the data and technical foundations, and design workflows that support human decision-making. AI can expand what people are able to do, but its value depends on how well it fits an organization’s needs and how thoughtfully it is put into practice.

We’re proud to contribute to Vaiv’s development with the Harvard Business School AI Institute and to support its work with Microsoft Frontier Firm partners. Together, this effort brings research, engineering, and organizational experience to the challenge of making AI useful in everyday business decisions.

Learn more about Vaiv and the Harvard Business School AI Institute.