Montreal's Element AI gets record $102 million boost from U.S. investors

Montreal-based Element AI, a key player in the city's burgeoning artificial-intelligence sector, has clinched a major financing deal to fund future growth and job creation. Element is set to announce on Wednesday that it has raised US$102-million from a group of investors led by San Francisco venture capital fund Data Collective (DCVC). The deal is the largest Series A funding round for an AI company in history, Element says. The investment will allow Element to "accelerate its capabilities and invest in large-scale AI projects internationally, solidifying its position as the largest global AI company in Canada and creating 250 jobs in the Canadian high tech sector by January 2018," it said in a news release. Element was founded last year by tech entrepreneurs Jean-François Gagné and Nicolas Chapados, Montreal venture capital fund Real Ventures, and Université de Montréal AI scientist Yoshua Bengio.