More than $ 100 million in investments and several thousand members – including companies, incubators, large university centers and professional organizations such as the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) -: the artificial intelligence supercluster has failed. not idle since its creation.
“Scale AI is a bit like a triangle. It has three branches: basic research, companies and start-ups. To make the ecosystem work, you have to support the three summits, but above all, link them together, ”explains Julien Billot, CEO of Scale AI.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY SCALE AI
Julien Billot, Chairman and CEO of Scale AI.
To achieve this, the supercluster brings together these three players by funding concrete projects where they work hand in hand and by organizing events. And his notebook is full.
An artificial intelligence project typically costs between $ 1 million and $ 2 million to implement, according to Scale AI. “If we consider that when we invest $ 1, companies put in 2, that means that we have funded between 150 and 300 concrete use cases in companies or young start-ups in the country in two years and half “, considers the CEO.
A booming sector
The impact of the supercluster is being felt in Quebec. “It gives concrete expression to the expertise we have in operational research. It gives us the tools to stand out even more in logistics and supply chains. These questions are crucial for the global economy, ”said Marie-Paule Jeansonne, CEO of Forum IA Quebec.
According to the organization whose mission is to make artificial intelligence a lever for economic and social development, the sector is doing very well in the province.
PHOTO KARENE-ISABELLE JEAN-BAPTISTE, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Marie-Paule Jeansonne, President of Forum IA Quebec
Today, there are over 95,000 jobs in Montreal alone. More than 1.7 billion has been invested in venture capital for start-ups in artificial intelligence since 2018.
Marie-Paule Jeansonne, CEO of Forum IA Quebec
“The ecosystem is very rich at all stages of the chain, whether it is research, incubators, venture capital funds or specialized consulting firms. “
The industry is now embarking on a second phase: the creation and marketing of concrete artificial intelligence applications. The Forum mandated the firm KPMG to identify the number of companies which, in their raison d’être, offer products and services powered by artificial intelligence. “We have found that there are more than 650. We are therefore already well in the saddle,” rejoices Marie-Paule Jeansonne.
Concrete projects
Projects funded by Scale AI cut across all industries, from healthcare to agriculture to retail, and businesses of all sizes. We are not talking about research here, but concrete applications. The results must be there the following year. About half of these projects are from Quebec.
“We have carried out several projects with Bombardier in connection with the optimization of its supply of spare parts and with the maintenance of its planes”, gives Julien Billot as an example.
The Optel company in Lévis has for its part worked on the traceability of Canadian aluminum. The Port of Montreal also benefited from the support of Scale AI to prioritize the unloading of containers that housed medical equipment during the pandemic. The company has also optimized its human resources. Paper maker Kruger will build the digital twin of its new plant in Sherbrooke to better prevent breakdowns and plan maintenance.