A|I: The AI Times – Sophia (the robot) comes to Canada

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Certn raises $975,000 to use AI for background checks(BETAKIT)

Investors in the round include Atrium Ventures, Panache Ventures, Hello Ventures, and iNovia Capital.


Robot human Sophia makes first Canadian visit at Toronto conference(CTVNEWS)

Sophia told the human audience that despite her ability to respond to questions, make facial expressions and express emotions, they shouldn’t be worried about her replacing them anytime soon.


Suki raises $20M to create a voice assistant for doctors(TECHCRUNCH)

The funding was led by Venrock, with participation from First Round, Social+Capital, Nat Turner of Flatiron Health, Marc Benioff, and other individual Googlers and angels.


BenchSci raises $10 million Series A for antibody search engine (BETAKIT)

The round included participation from Google’s AI-focused venture fund.


AI is the new space race. Here’s what the biggest countries are doing(QZ)

After years of a slow trickle, the first months of 2018 have seen an explosion of government-backed AI projects announced all over the world. Here are some of the biggest and most consequential.


Machine learning engineer tops Indeed Canada’s list of top 10 best jobs (BETAKIT)

Machine learning engineer, full stack developer, and DevOps engineer were the top three jobs.


Box CEO Aaron Levie talks Canada, AI and the future of cloud computing (FINANCIALPOST)

“I think over the next decade, we’re going to see far more partnership, far more collaboration, and far more investment in Canada than ever before,” said Levie.


Lobe’s ridiculously simple machine learning platform aims to empower non-technical creators (TECHCRUNCH)

Lobe takes the concepts of machine learning, things like feature extraction and labeling, and puts them in a simple, intuitive visual interface.


MindBridge AI raises $8.4 million Series A (BETAKIT)

To date, Mindbridge has raised $15 million in financing.


Facebook adds AI labs in Seattle and Pittsburgh, pressuring local universities (NYTIMES)

The company hopes its seasoned researchers will help recruit and train other AI experts in the two cities.


Google made a fun AI-powered emoji scavenger hunt that you can play on your phone (THEVERGE)

Google has created an emoji scavenger hunt that shows how the company’s machine learning tools can be used to make fun little games.


Algolux raises $12.8 million CAD for autonomous vision tech (BETAKIT)

Algolux said its technology can support safer autonomous vehicles that encounter extreme lighting and adverse weather conditions.


Cisco is acquiring business intelligence startup Accompany for $270M(TECHCRUNCH)

Accompany uses artificial intelligence to build databases of people and relationships at companies.

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Amira Zubairi

Amira Zubairi is a staff writer and content creator at BetaKit with a strong interest in Canadian startup, business, and legal tech news. In her free time, Amira indulges in baking desserts, working out, and watching legal shows.

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