Artificial intelligence
Montréal is a global centre for AI expertise, thanks to its prestigious research groups and thriving ecosystem committed to developing a world in which AI will serve the common good.
The world's largest cross-sector research hub
In total, the Montréal area is home to more than 40 organizations dedicated to research and innovation in artificial intelligence in both the academic and industrial sectors, including 900 associated researchers from academia, start-ups and large companies. Among these is the Montréal Institute of Learning Algorithms (MILA), led by renowned Professor Yoshua Bengio, a pioneer in deep learning and winner of the 2018 Turing Award. MILA oversees more than 150 AI research projects in sectors such as health, environment and climate change, and AI ethics, and employs 900 researchers associated with McGill University and Université de Montréal.
Other AI-related groups include:
- Institute for Data Valorization (IVADO)
- Canada Excellence Research Chair in Data Science for Real-Time Decision-Making (CERC)
- Tech3Lab, a laboratory specialized in user experience (UX) in the context of business technologies (HEC Montréal)
- Interuniversity Research Centre on Enterprise Networks, Logistics and Transportation (CIRRELT)
- Group for Research in Decision Analysis (GERAD)
- Centre for Intelligent Machines (CIM), McGill
- Laboratory for Imagery Vision and Artificial Intelligence (LIVIA), ETS
- Reasoning and Learning Laboratory (RL LAB), McGill
- Centre de recherches mathématiques (CRM), UdeM
- Centre de recherche en intelligence artificielle (CRIA), UQAM
Launched in 2018, the School of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare (SAIH) of the Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM) is the very first francophone school of its kind to focus on offering improved healthcare by developing human capacities and implementing AI in a real health environment, in an ethical and responsible manner.
Home to a vibrant and dedicated AI community
In December 2018, 500 participants gathered in Montréal to sign the Montréal Declaration for a Responsible Development of Artificial Intelligence. Montréal is a hub for responsible AI, where stakeholders think about developing new AI innovations that respect the 7 principles of the declaration, namely autonomy, justice, well-being, privacy, democracy, knowledge and responsibility. The Montréal AI ecosystem, the only one of its kind in the world, is built on a collaborative structure that brings together academia, companies and startups to harness AI to solve environmental, social, medical and economic challenges.
A city that attracts world-renowned AI leaders
The following world-class companies have chosen to develop their AI expertise in Montréal:
- Google Brain
- Microsoft AI Lab
- IBM AI Lab
- Meta AI Research
- DeepMind
- Thales AI Lab
- Borealis AI (RBC)
- Techstars Montréal AI Accelerator
- Havas Group AI Innovation Centre
- Huawei AI Technologies
- Samsung AI Centre
- Good AI Capital
Montréal start-ups advancing AI
Renowned Montréal startups have secured significant amounts of financing to help strengthen the city’s leading global AI position, including:
- Element AI
- Hopper
- Mnubo
- Algolux
- AUTOMAT
Specialized incubators and accelerators
The following companies support start-ups that have recently entered the AI field and champion those with proven ideas and business models:
- Techstars Montréal AI
- Creative Destruction Lab (HEC Montréal)
- FounderFuel
- Next AI (HEC Montréal)
- TandemLunch
- McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship
- Centech (ETS)
- Centech
Clusters that reinforce the Montréal and Québec ecosystem
The Government of Canada has chosen Montréal as the headquarters of SCALE AI (Supply Chains and Logistics Excellence AI) — the country’s supercluster of innovation in artificial intelligence. A consortium directed by the industry, SCALE AI is dedicated to building the next generation of supply chains and to propelling industrial performance. Montréal has also been chosen by the Government of Québec as home to Intelligence Artificielle Québec.
Major events
- Construction NumériQC 2022
Attendance: 1,200
- Adaptation Futures Conference 2023
Attendance: 1,200
- World Summit AI for the Americas 2023
Attendance: 3,000
- Scale AI ALL IN 2023
Attendance: 900
- 34th International Joint Conferences on Artificial Intelligence - IJCAI 2025
Attendance: 4,000
