Artificial Intelligence: The Year in Review Lexology

By all accounts, "Maple Valley" is thriving. Based on available data to date, it is estimated that funding raised by Canadian AI companies in 2017 will exceed US$250 million, representing an almost two-fold increase from the previous record historical high of US$143 million in 2015.[ii] This healthy injection of private-sector funding has been accompanied by significant public investment. Notably, the 2017 federal budget provided for C$125 million in research and development funds earmarked for AI initiatives and nearly C$1 billion over 5 years to promote innovation superclusters.[iii] Access to unprecedented levels of capital, a strong network of academic institutions, improving infrastructure and availability of talent facilitated by open immigration rules have fuelled the development of a burgeoning industry north of the border.