Welcome to the Ask AI news roundup where we highlight the latest innovations, investments, and breakthroughs in Canada's artificial intelligence sector. To get these stories and links to our latest content please feel free to subscribe to our monthly newsletter or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
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AI and Sustainability news
HALIFAX - Global Spatial Technology Solutions, an Artificial Intelligence and Maritime Analytics company announced today that the Ports of Halifax and New York & New Jersey as well as the Laurentian Pilotage Authority have joined the OCIANA Consortium, established under the Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) program to support the development and demonstration of new environmental technologies that address climate change, clean air, clean water, and clean soil. Full story.
REGINA - according to Precision.AI CEO Dan McCann, regulations in Canada are forcing companies like his to get sponsored by the chemical companies they’re trying to disrupt in order to be used on Canadian farms. According to the company, herbicide spraying is a critical business process in farming that operates at a 90 percent inefficiency. Full story.
MONTREAL - David Rolnick, MILA member and assistant professor and Canada CIFAR AI Chair in the School of Computer Science at McGill University has been named an MIT Technology Review 2021 Innovator Under 35. His research focuses on developing a better understanding of AI systems and on applying AI to help tackle climate change, including innovative algorithms for electrical grid optimization, biodiversity monitoring, and accelerated scientific modeling. Full story.
AI and Society news
EDMONTON - AltaML, an applied AI studio, has announced a collaboration with Microsoft Canada and the University of Waterloo to deliver work-integrated learning experiences for students as a part of the Waterloo Experience (WE) Accelerate program. Full story.
WATERLOO - Maplesoft, a company that helps students solve math problems, check their homework, and explore graphs in 3-D, says its technology is being used by engineers and researchers at organizations including Google, NASA, and the Canadian Space Agency. “Our mission is to just make math more accessible,” says Karishma Punwani, Maplesoft’s director of academic products. “We want to change the way students view, learn, and access math to help them see the awe in it.” Full story.
AI Research News
WATERLOO - Researchers from Germany and Canada are collaborating on FLAIROP (Federated Learning for Robot Picking) a partnership between Canadian and German organizations. The Canadian project partners focus on object recognition through Deep Learning, Explainable AI, and optimization, while the German partners contribute their expertise in robotics, autonomous grasping through Deep Learning, and data security. Full story.
AI and Healthcare news
VANCOUVER - Treatment.com is developing wearable technology that integrates personal wearable health data and the Treatment AI engine to provide recommendations to prevent illness. The company is also developing Cara, an app to synthesize wearable data to provide better healthcare recommendations, along with real-time analysis, benchmarking and understanding of each consumer’s holistic health picture. Full story.
MONTREAL - Artificial intelligence and machine learning have incredible potential for virtual health care, says Valerie Larochelle, co-founder of Montreal-based Eugeria, a technology company that provides digital products and services for people with Alzheimer’s and cognitive decline and their caregivers. Her company primarily imports technologies developed in other jurisdictions where 5G deployment is further along compared to Canada. Full story.
AI Governance news
OTTAWA - François-Philippe Champagne, Canadian Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry has presented the priorities for the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence for 2021. Launched in June 2020, GPAI is the result of a G7 initiative developed under its Canadian and French presidencies. GPAI supports the development and use of AI based on human rights, inclusion, diversity, innovation and economic growth. In 2019, the International Centre of Expertise in Montréal on Artificial Intelligence (CEIMIA) received up to $10 million over 5 years from the Government of Canada to support its activities and those of GPAI. Full story.
OTTAWA - The Government of Canada has launched a consultation on a Modern Copyright Framework for AI and the Internet of Things. The goal is for the legislation to be effective in fostering innovation and investment as new technologies develop and support the changing needs of artists, innovators and consumers in a high-tech world. Full story.
AI Investment news
TORONTO - Canadian Conversational AI design tool Voiceflow raises $20 Million In Series A. "If you come from the visual design world you got great tools like Figma and Sketch and Photoshop, and meanwhile folks who were working on conversational AI were using Word docs.” Full story.
VANCOUVER - ZoomInfo has announced a $575M acquisition of Vancouver-based Chorus.ai , a a “conversation intelligence” platform that uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to analyze calls, meetings and emails with prospective customers to provide additional information to sales teams. Full story.
MONTREAL - computer vision startup Algolux has raised $23M CAD ($18.4 million USD) in Series B funding round co-led by Forte Ventures and Drive Capital. Global automotive camera shipments are expected to surpass 300 million units by 2025, reaching $25B in revenue according to separate studies by Yole Development and Global Market Insights. Full story.
MONTREAL - Canadian aviation company CAE says it is investing $1 billion into innovation as part of a partnership with the Canadian and Quebec governments. The company says the funding will go toward developing artificial intelligence and data solutions to be used in civil aviation, defence and security and healthcare. The Canadian government is contributing $190 million and the Quebec government $150 million. Full story.
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