A new government-funded program in Québec aims to help startups and small businesses integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into their operations. But unlike several of Québec’s other innovation-focused initiatives, this one comes with a price tag.
DémultiplIA, offered through the Institute for Data Valorization (IVADO), will select 15 startups and small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) every year and support them in integrating AI into their business models. IVADO, a joint venture between the three postsecondary institutions HEC Montréal, Polytechnique Montréal, and the Université de Montréal, acts as a bridge organization between industry and academia with a focus on data science and AI.
“The ultimate goal is to help growing SMEs and startups strategically integrate R&D into their development through our academic AI research ecosystem, one of the best in the world,” Gabrielle Langlois, head of the DémultiplIA program, wrote in an email to BetaKit.
With its network of over 2,000 AI researchers, IVADO hopes to help startups tap into the province’s AI expertise. The organization will connect chosen startups and SMEs with research groups and AI labs to complete R&D projects that may seem like too large of an investment for startups looking to commercialize.
Applicants must be prepared to invest a minimum of $30,000 each year into these AI development projects, plus another $5,000 annually for an IVADO membership.
However, the program comes at a cost: applicants must be prepared to invest a minimum of $30,000 each year into these AI development projects, plus another $5,000 annually for an IVADO membership.
Through the support of IVADO, the $90,000 invested may be matched or added to by the myriad other financing programs available in Québec. For example, Mitacs and Partenar-IA are available funding partners for startups selected for DémultiplIA.
The $5,000 annual membership to IVADO includes access to a pool of mentoring hours with entrepreneurs at Montréal-based incubator Centech, as well as $8,500 in scholarship money to collaborate with MBA students at HEC Montréal for advisory projects. It also includes customized training and scientific mentoring hours through IVADO’s academic network.
DémultiplIA is targeted towards AI startups in the commercialization stage, Langlois explained, as well as SMEs hoping to create new products that integrate AI. The program is open to AI startups as well as non-AI startups, but the latter must have adequate quality data to advance a project.
In a LinkedIn post, co-founder and director of Canadian Investors / Venture Impact Coalition (CIVIC), Sylvain Carle, said that the program is a “nice additional option” in the market. However, he pointed out that investing at least $105,000 over three years may not be an attractive prospect for early-stage entrepreneurs.
“It’s clearly not an offer for early-stage startups,” Carle wrote in French.
The DémultiplIA program, for example, lists “between $200,000-$500,000” as the middle annual income band on its application form. Séraphin Hochart, co-founder and CTO of FrancoFlex, says this reflects the lack of accessibility among many of Québec’s government-funded innovation programs, particularly for early-stage companies.
“It’s a chicken and egg problem where you need research to grow but you need to grow to get research,” Hochart told BetaKit.
Seed-stage companies in Québec had a particularly difficult time raising money in Q3, according to a joint CVCA and Réseau Capital report.
RELATED: Report: Québec VC funding continues downward spiral in Q3 2024 but shows early-stage promise
The provincial Ministère de l’Économie, de l’Innovation et de l’Énergie (MEIE) granted IVADO $8 million in funding over three years in May for the development of AI innovation programs, some of which will be put towards DémultiplIA.
Unveiled in early November, the program’s goals of connecting academics in AI research with startups in their commercialization stages align with the MEIE’s goals. Minister Christopher Skeete, who is responsible for the innovation portion of MEIE’s portfolio, recently told BetaKit that a disconnect between academia and industry is part of Québec’s innovation problem.
AI adoption also often comes with a significant environmental cost. However, when asked whether IVADO will ensure that AI-related carbon emissions are mitigated, Langlois said this is one of the “key topics” IVADO plans to address through their customized training program for the chosen entrepreneurs.
“We encourage companies to consider the environmental impact of their AI initiatives and provide guidance on how to optimize AI-related processes to minimize carbon emissions,” Langlois wrote.
Applications for the program close on Dec. 8, and winners will be announced by Dec. 16.
Feature image courtesy IVADO.