Helping Fortune 30 Companies Leverage AI

To say Vaishnavi Yeruva (MSAI '20) has worked with big-name clients in her role as an applied artificial intelligence (AI) consultant with Deloitte would be an understatement. 
 
Since joining Deloitte in 2021, Yeruva has used AI and related technologies to solve business problems for Fortune 30 companies Anthem, CVS Health, and Meta.  

Yeruva works with her clients to understand their needs, develop AI solutions, and then support the implementation and integration of those solutions within their organizations. Yeruva's projects often involve machine learning, data science, or natural language processing — skills she honed during her time in Northwestern Engineering's Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence (MSAI) program.  

“MSAI provides the perfect opportunity to learn and develop relevant AI-based skills and experience,” she said. “A large part of my work encompasses all that I learned in MSAI courses.”   

Yeruva has spent the past year consulting with the Meta data science team. In that capacity, she applies advanced analytical techniques to large datasets to support the company's research and development efforts. The goal is to help the company build and improve connectivity technologies around the world.   

Prior to collaborating with Meta, Yeruva was focused on the healthcare space. She worked with Anthem (now known as Elevance Health) and CVS Health to build AI-based business intelligence tools that sought to create more understandable and trustworthy AI-powered solutions.   

"The most enjoyable aspects of my work are the challenge of solving complex problems, the impact of my work across cross-functional teams from various industries, and the opportunity for continuous learning and developing new skills," she said.  

That desire to continue learning led her to MSAI.   

Yeruva was attracted to the program because of its diverse course offerings, its ties to industry, and the mentorship of MSAI director Kristian Hammond.   

The data science seminar and human computer interaction were the most impactful courses Yeruva took in MSAI, but it was an outside-the-classroom experience that proved to be the most memorable for her.   

Yeruva participated in an AWS-sponsored hackathon that saw her and her teammates develop a unique creation.  

“We worked on what we called a wing-bot, which was a conversational assistant that helps with flirting,” she said. “I enjoyed the team collaboration and how we could sync our diverse skill sets to build something in a few hours.”   

That experience showed Yeruva valuable lessons about AI and data science — lessons she constantly is reminded of with her work at Deloitte. 

“Data science need not be mundane,” she said. “Data science is not just about coding. A significant amount of effort goes into identifying, designing, and impact analysis of AI-based products. 

"The most important aspect of this role is to communicate our findings to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.”