AI & Analytics Accelerator

Wharton AI & Analytics Accelerator Helps RxSense Tackle AI Challenges in Healthcare

A small group of people in formal attire are giving a presentation. One person is speaking, with a chart displayed on a screen behind them. Others in the room are seated, listening attentively.

Rick Bates, WG’96, CEO of RxSense, joined the Wharton AI & Analytics Accelerator to explore new solutions to two high-priority challenges: automating long-range drug pricing forecasts and reverse-engineering pharmacy benefit plans. Through the 8-week collaboration, RxSense gained fresh modeling approaches, actionable AI frameworks, and a clearer path to full automation—outcomes that are now directly shaping the company’s internal analytics strategy and future hiring. The project exemplifies how companies can leverage the Accelerator to solve complex problems and accelerate innovation.…Read More

A Predictive Analytics Collaboration with RxSense

RxSense grqphic

University of Penn students partnered with RxSense for the Spring 2025 AI & Analytics Accelerator. The group worked to to develop a forecasting model to predict drug utilization trends for 2025, enabling RxSense’s clients—pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and health plans—to more effectively budget for and manage pharmacy costs. …Read More

IKEA Retail (Ingka Group) Leverages Wharton AI & Analytics Accelerator for Strategic Innovation

A person in formal attire is giving a presentation to a small group seated in a modern conference room. There is a brick wall and a screen displaying content in the background.

For the past three years, IKEA has participated in the Wharton AI & Analytics Accelerator, an experiential learning program offered by the Wharton AI & Analytics Initiative (WAIAI) which pairs teams of qualified students with companies to solve real business challenges. We spoke with Christine Cox, WG’01, Head of Digital Data and Analytics for IKEA Retail (Ingka Group), and Tania de Sousa Dias, Global Vice President of AI Adoption & Governance at IKEA, to learn how IKEA continues to find value in the Accelerator year after year.…Read More

Analytics Accelerator Fall 2023 – Student Spotlights

During the Fall 2023 Analytics Accelerator, teams of students from across the University of Pennsylvania worked with corporate partners Align Technology, IKEA, TaskRabbit, and Zillow, analyzing their real data to uncover actionable business insights. Hear from students about their experience working with these companies, and leading their Analytics Accelerator teams.…Read More

A Day in the Life of a Wharton Student: Spring 2023 Analytics Accelerator

A group of people in a modern office setting engaged in a meeting or discussion. Two individuals with laptops focus intently, while another is blurred in the foreground.

For the past three semesters, Rishabh Mandayam, M&T’24, has been collaborating with Analytics at Wharton’s corporate partners on the Analytics Accelerator, a six-week project where students wrangle company data and provide actionable business solutions. This spring marked the 10th Analytics Accelerator and saw Mandayam’s student team working alongside Hearst to uncover insights about the company’s readers.…Read More