Organization: CIFAR

The Short Report, December 11, 2019: Wexit spooks Wattpad; Montreal’s swelling video-game sector; North promises better next time

The Toronto-based e-publisher Wattpad has chosen to open its second headquarters in Halifax rather than Calgary, due to concerns about Western separatism and the elimination of Alberta tax credits supporting companies in the innovation economy. Five business tax credit programs were cut, including the Investor Tax Credit introduced by the previous NDP government, which provided a 30%…

The Short Report, October 23, 2019: BoosterPacks, quantum supremacy, rare earth metals

CANARIE launched a new free tool called BoosterPacks to help Canadian entrepreneurs adopt new technologies. Each BoosterPack is curated for specific emerging technologies, like Internet of Things (IoT), machine learning, and data analytics. The BoosterPacks contain an essential guide to the technology, including documentation of implementation and architecture options; a sample solution that demonstrates the technology;…

The Short Report, June 5, 2019 – McMaster endowment, AI, timber research, green jet fuel

BDC Capital has launched the $250-million Industrial Innovation Venture Fund to invest in early to late stage tech firms and entrepreneurs accelerating the transformation of core Canadian industries including ag-tech, advanced manufacturing, oil and gas and mining tech. Venture capital veteran Joe Regan joins as the fund’s managing partner. “Industrial sectors tend to be slow…

The Short Report – May 15, 2019: Early career awards, cannabis R&D, AI

Minister of Science and Sport Kirsty Duncan has announced the first 157 early career researchers to share $38 million under the recently launched New Frontiers in Research Fund. Each recipient will receive up to $250,000 over the next two years to support international, interdisciplinary, fast-breaking and high-risk research. – Newswire Vancouver-based Centre for Drug Research…

LG Electronics launches new AI Lab in Toronto

Korean tech giant, LG Electronics Inc. (LG) is launching the “LG Electronics AI Research Lab”, an extension of LG’s existing AI Research Lab in Silicon Valley, at the Univ of Toronto. The new facility is the latest LG AI lab, joining existing labs in South Korea, India, and Russia, as a part of LG’s growing…

G7 leaders commit to STI concerns

G7 Leaders have committed to act on key issues brought to their attention by the science, technology and innovation (STI) community, particularly around artificial intelligence (AI) and climate change. However, the US stayed away from any further climate change commitments, while Canada’s STI stakeholders are asking for action beyond signatures on a piece of paper.