In a move that further proves Montreal is one of the foremost artificial intelligence (AI) hubs in the world right now, Samsung has confirmed that it has opened a new AI lab at the Université de Montréal.

The laboratory, part of the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT), is a collaboration with Yoshua Bengio, the ‘godfather of machine learning’, and has been open since August. It will focus on developing core algorithms for use in robotics, autonomous driving, translations, and voice and visual recognition.

Bengio explained in an interview that the collaboration between the university and Samsung actually dates back to 2014, but with the opening of the lab there will be an expansion of the research team. Samsung researchers from Korea will join university staff as part of the initiative.

“It’s another signal that Montreal is becoming a hub for artificial intelligence, not just at the university level but at the industry level,” he said.

I think there will probably be more announcements to come.

SAIT, a research arm of Samsung Electronics, focuses on researching technology for the long-term that maybe commercially applicable in the next five to 10 years. Samsung is also currently preparing an AI speaker for release next year. They have said they want AI features on all their home appliance lineup by 2020.

The announcement comes soon after Facebook announced they are also opening an AI lab in Montreal.

Photo: (Graham Hughes/Canadian Press)