January 31, 2023

Wharton AI & Analytics for Business (AIAB) welcomes Hearst as its newest corporate partner.

Hearst is a leading global, diversified information, services, and media company with operations in 40 countries. AIAB will be working with the Newspapers division for their first project together and then with the E-Commerce team on a second project. The goal of the first project is to build a dynamic paywall that maximizes readership and subscriptions to Hearst Newspapers’ news websites, including the San Francisco Chronicle, Houston Chronicle, San Antonio Express-News, Albany Times Union and the Hearst Connecticut Media Group.

“We are excited to have Hearst as our newest Corporate Partner. Our first project together is around acquiring new subscribers, which is an area of research that is of particular interest and excitement to me. I’m looking forward to mentoring students and furthering the research in this area through this project and partnership. The students will learn a lot from this very practical but tricky problem that many different companies deal with,” says Raghu Iyengar, Faculty Co-Director of Wharton AI & Analytics for Business.”

The renowned corporate program at AIAB provides Hearst with the opportunity to engage with faculty, staff, and students to tackle business analytics problems, engage in research and thought leadership, and prepare the next generation of data-driven decision makers. This spring, Hearst will participate in the Analytics Accelerator, AIAB’s flagship program, where a team of students from Penn and Wharton will analyze anonymous customer behavior data from their website to help Hearst increase their likelihood to subscribe.

“Hearst is committed to innovation across its divisions,” said Hearst Newspapers Chief Marketing Officer Mark Campbell. “This alliance with Wharton AI & Analytics for Business furthers that mission, enhancing our businesses through sophisticated data projects. We look forward to insights and outcomes from AIAB that both expand our customer base and improve the product experiences we serve.”

About Wharton AI & Analytics for Business

Wharton AI & Analytics for Business is the preeminent academic research center focusing on providing tomorrow’s business leaders with the understanding of where and how to apply AI and analytics to transform and innovate business enterprises.  AIAB’s research applies artificial intelligence and advanced analytics to transform and innovate business enterprises and support AI applications within academic disciplines that include human-AI collaboration.

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