AI start-ups are taking the country by storm.
While many consumers are simply using AI to help them with their homework, manage their budget, or create digital art, a growing number of entrepreneurs are leveraging machine learning and artificial intelligence to come up with creative solutions for customer service, waste management, green energy, medicine, supply chain distribution, and more.
Below, I’ll share some of the most interesting AI companies in Canada that you should keep on your radar!
The Evolving Landscape Of AI Startups
When Open AI launched the first iteration of ChatGPT in November 2022, it rocked the world to its core. Many believe it was the single greatest innovation of our time, rivalling it with the creation of the internet itself.
However, machine learning and artificial intelligence have roots that date back further. Humans have been working to create machine-learning models since the 1950s. The main difference between the primitive AI systems developed over the past two decades and today’s AI models are their levels of intelligence.
Due to recent breakthroughs in neural-linguistic programming, we’ve finally developed AI models that can learn at incredible speeds.
These advances have allowed AI startups to bootstrap existing AI models to their own research and development to create intuitive products and services for our modern world.
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Best AI Companies In Canada
Canada is home to a ton of up-and-coming AI start-ups. Similar to the cryptocurrency and DeFi boom we saw in 2017-2018, many of them will stand the test of time.
After looking through them, though, I found several standout companies offering innovative technologies that could stand the test of time. Here’s a quick look at my favourite AI companies in Canada.
1. Hopper
- Funding: $729 million
- Learn more: hopper.com
Tired of spending hours scrolling through flight aggregators to find the best deal on a flight?
Hopper is an AI-backed solution that uses advanced data analytics to predict airfare fluctuations to help its users find the best deals on flights. When prices hit rock bottom, you’ll be notified so that you can step in and snatch up the deals.
2. InteraXon
- Funding: $39.9 million
- Learn more: choosemuse.com
Imagine controlling devices with your mind. InterXon’s innovative Muse headset is a wearable headpiece that turns science fiction into reality. The company is pioneering brain-computer interface technology, would could potentially revolutionize how we interact with the digital world.
Although Muse is currently focused on helping its users achieve focused states of deep meditation, future iterations could see a complete device that could use your thoughts to control everything from your phone to your home products.
3. Deep Genomics
- Funding: $236.7 million
- Learn more: deepgenomics.com
Toronto-based biotech company, Deep Genomics, is revolutionizing the world of gene therapy. It uses cutting-edge machine-learning technology to examine DNA and RNA to find patterns and create customized treatments and therapies for a wide variety of diseases and illnesses.
Imagine a world where disease, congenital birth defects, and other illnesses are a thing of the past. While the company is just getting started, I’m excited to see where it takes things in the next decade. This is easily one of the most viable AI start-ups in Canada.
4. Ecobee
- Funding: $149.4 million
- Learn more: ecobee.com
Ecobee offers a simple straightforward product that any homeowner can find value in – an AI thermostat.
The company’s Wi-Fi-enabled thermostats learn your habits so that your home is always optimized for your personal comfort and energy usage. Once it learns your habits, you’ll rarely have to adjust the thermostat yourself.
Additionally, Ecobee’s thermostats come with Amazon Alexa built-in, which allows you to control your home climate from your phone or simply by speaking to it. This device is a great addition to any smart home and could also help reduce your energy bill.
5. Dooly
- Funding: $102.3 million
- Learn more: dooly.ai
Dooly is an AI-driven sales platform that syncs all of your notes to all the right places, automates updates, and delivers insights to help you close deals faster.
At its core, it’s a productivity platform designed to help you manage your clients, to-do list, and sales pipeline, so that you spend less time scrolling through notes, files, and reminders.
It comes with a handy AI assistant that will give you timely reminders and take care of small tasks for you. It’s almost like having a virtual assistant.
6. Solink
- Funding: $94.1 million
- Learn more: solink.com
Solink is shaking up business security through the use of machine learning and AI. The system can be bootstrapped to video surveillance systems to offer enhanced alerts and monitoring.
Instead of relying on a human security guard who could fall asleep watching the screens (as we’ve seen in so many spy movies), Solink’s AI monitors every screen 24/7.
It uses historical data to identify potential crimes such as theft or break-ins before they happen or spot previously undetected crimes so businesses can bulletproof themselves in the future.
The coolest thing about Solink is that the system can be customized for virtually any business model. From casinos to hotels, retail stores, and even public buildings, it could create a safer world for everybody.
7. Ada
- Funding: $190.6 million
- Learn more: ada.cx
Ada aims to revolutionize the customer service industry. While chatbot assistants on websites aren’t anything new, Ada’s chatbots are significantly more advanced than the limited bots you’ll find on your average e-commerce site.
Ada’s AI models can be 100% customized and trained on the data of each individual client. The AI can learn from past customer service conflicts/resolutions and from human assistants helping it to learn.
Once the AI is up to speed, it can pretty much replace the need for human customer support agents, which can save companies a large chunk of change and streamline customer support.
8. Attabotics
- Funding: $194.1 million
- Learn more: attabotics.com
When it comes to warehouses, Attabotics is a game-changer. The company creates AI-backed robots designed to automate warehousing and storage solutions.
Attabotics also designs custom warehouses designed for its robots to work in. Dubbed “The Studio,” these warehouses save 85% compared to traditional warehouses and reduce labour costs by up to 75%.
9. Tenstorrent
- Funding: $334.5 million
- Learn more: tenstorrent.com
Tenstorrent is making waves in AI processing. The company develops fast, smart, and efficient machine-learning processors that can update and create new algorithms on the fly, limiting the need for human interference and programming.
10. Ideon Technologies
- Funding: $24.1 million
- Learn more: ideon.ai
Mining is one of the leading industries in Canada, thanks to our country’s abundant natural resources. One of the most difficult challenges faced by mining operations is locating undiscovered metal veins and deposits.
Ideon aims to simplify this process and reduce the need for unnecessary drilling and damage to the natural landscape by using an AI model that can find patterns and predict mineral deposits.
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11. SPORTLOGiQ
- Funding: $7.4 million
- Learn more: sportlogiq.com
Almost all top-tier athletes and coaches will tell you that they spend hours analyzing their opponents and their own performance in previous games. Then, they use this data to develop better plays, fix their flaws, and gain a competitive edge.
SPORTLOGiQ hopes to simplify this process by using AI models to perform deep analysis on previous games, creating detailed reports and picking up on details that the human eye could easily miss.
This means that the players and coaches will spend less time reviewing footage and more time on the field, implementing insights provided by SPORTLOGiQ’s AI.
12. Paladin AI
- Funding: $800,000
- Learn more: paladin.ai
In mid-November 2023, an Air Canada flight narrowly avoided a crash landing in Toronto due to heavy winds. Airplane crashes are almost always deadly, and the more prepared pilots are, the less likely they are to happen.
Paladin AI is bringing a new edge to pilot training by incorporating AI into its aviation training programs.
The integration of machine learning into pilot training allows the AI to adjust to each pilot’s specific needs, helping them be the best they can be before they’re given the responsibility of a real plane.
How Can I Invest In AI Companies In Canada?
Ready to invest in AI? The simplest way of investing in AI is to buy stock in blue-chip companies like Google (Alphabet), Microsoft, and others that have already been incorporating AI into their systems.
If you’re looking for a more hands-on approach, though, you can often invest in AI start-ups through peer-to-peer lending platforms like Seed Invest or goPeer.
If you want to learn more, be sure to check out my review of goPeer Lending next!
