Samsung Electronics announced that it is establishing another artificial intelligence (AI) center in Montreal, the second biggest city in Canada and home to one of the world’s fastest growing AI communities.
The opening of the AI center in Montreal will allow Samsung to expand its outpost for industry collaboration and talent recruitment in a major AI hub in Canada, dedicated to research and development of core AI technologies that entail machine learning, language, vision and other multi-modal interactions.
At the opening event, there were about 100 guests in attendance including Marc Garneau, Canada’s Minister of Transportation; Philippe Tomlinson, mayor of Outremont and member of Montreal’s Development Commission; Seunghwan Cho, Executive Vice President of Samsung Research; Geunbae Lee, Head of Samsung AI Center in Seoul and Larry Heck, Head of AI Centers for Samsung Research America.
“By leveraging the power of AI in Samsung’s products and services, we must focus on creating new values, never seen nor experienced before,” said Seunghwan Cho. “To do this, seven Global AI Centers, including the Montreal AI Center, will play a pivotal role.”
During the event, Samsung presented its future vision for AI as it aims to develop a highly personalized multi-device platform that empowers people to accomplish more in their lives. By providing multiple touchpoints where a user can interact with AI, not only through voice, Samsung’s multi-modal interaction platform (voice, vision, screen, touch) will make experiences more relevant and personal in the future.
“One key element that will move AI to being more widely adopted is multi-device systems—i.e., a variety of AI-enabled devices that communicate seamlessly with each other,” said Dr. Heck. “Samsung is uniquely positioned to be a leader in this regard. It’s not just how each device uses AI, it’s how they use it together.”
The mayor of Montreal also celebrated the news. “Montreal is a vibrant and creative city with well-known academic institutions and some of the highest standards in quality of life allowing us to attract some of the best talents around the world. Samsung’s AI Center reinforces Montreal’s unique position and reputation as a global leader in the field of artificial intelligence. Their work with faculties, students, and the broader academic community highlights the city’s international reach and the strengths of a business ecosystem that is firmly focused on collaboration, research and innovation,” said Valérie Plante, Mayor of Montreal International.
Earlier this year, Samsung has announced plans to expand its advanced AI research capabilities to 1,000 by 2020 when all Samsung products and services are expected to be AI enabled. The global AI Centers, which are also located in Korea, Russia, and the U.K, will contribute to Samsung’s AI research with their unique regional strengths, and Samsung plans to expand its AI research centers to other technology and talent-rich areas.
