If mortgage lenders could figure out when their existing customers were thinking about moving, they could offer to help them find their next home -- and prequalify them for a loan. That's the thinking behind two complementary services offered to mortgage lenders by Senso, a Toronto-based fintech analytics startup. Senso Insights employs artificial intelligence to evaluate a lender's existing pool of borrowers to identify those who are actively looking to buy their next home. After calculating each homebuyer's purchasing power, Senso Engage provides them with personalized listings prioritized by neighborhood and affordability, along with access to loan pre-approval. This automated lead-nurturing campaign can help keep borrowers from defecting to another lender.

TD Bank Group is no stranger to investing in artificial intelligence and Canadian startups; acquiring Layer 6 at the beginning of this year, and partnering with Kasisto in October of last year and Toronto-based Flybits in 2015, now the bank is helping early-stage, Canadian startups patent their work. The Canadian bank announced, on Thursday, the first three startups to join its Patents for Startups Program, which helps companies at the seed stage with the funding and the application process to patent their work, in Canada the U.S. and abroad. The program which was launched last year will now start working with Senso.ai, "The success of young, innovative startups is key to Canada's future," said TD's intellectual property and patentable innovations lead Josh Death, in a press release, "ultimately, the customer wins when banks and startups collaborate." Senso is a cloud-based startup that helps financial institutions personalize retail banking, by using machine learning algorithms the platform detects key talking points for advisors and customers to discuss that focus on personalizing the retail banking needs of the customer.