As machine learning takes hold across industries, Blue J Legal CEO Benjamin Alarie believes that Toronto can be a leader in the space — but it doesn’t have to be the only one.
“It’s not meant to be a contest. We can have a multi-polar world, we can have multiple capitals — and Toronto is a fantastic place to be doing a startup,” Alarie said at the most recent TechToronto event. He explains a few reasons why Toronto is well-positioned to be a machine learning capital in its own right.
“It’s the most diverse city in the world, and it’s amazing the pool of talent that we can access here in Toronto. We have phenomenally good universities, and we’ve had really amazing innovation at these universities; Jeff Hinton, considered by many to be the father of deep learning, still retains a part-time appointment at U of T,” said Alarie. “Toronto is close to all the big cities on the east coast.”
Alarie also touches on the supports in the city: incubators like the Creative Destruction Lab and OneEleven and a strong startup community.
Watch the whole video below: