Microsoft to double size of Montreal research lab to bolster machine learning and deep learning tech

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau discussing Canadian expansion and AI at Davos

“Montreal is really one of the most exciting places in AI right now,” said Jennifer Chayes, a technical fellow and managing director of Microsoft Research New England, New York City and Montreal.

Microsoft announced plans to significantly expand its Montreal research lab, starting with the hire of renowned artificial intelligence expert, Geoff Gordon as the lab’s Research Director.

The expansion comes as Montreal is becoming a worldwide hub for groundbreaking work in the fields of machine learning and deep learning, which are core to AI advances. Upcoming plans include doubling the size of Microsoft Research Montreal within the next two years, to as many as 75 technical experts. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella today in Davos to discuss Microsoft’s plans for the Montreal Research lab and Montreal’s AI ecosystem.

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Foodora app and service disrupts food delivery

Foodora is one of the most disruptive and innovative services to come to Canada since Uber. Similar to what Uber has done for personal transportation, Foodora has breached a wide gap between people wanting to order food and restaurants who don't offer take out or delivery services. Formerly branded as Hurrier, Foodora's app, website and service quickly gives Canadians in Toronto and Montreal (as well as in 30 countries) access to thousands of restaurant menus, the ability to order food and have it quickly delivered by bike courier within minutes. The selection of restaurants and available cuisines is extensive.

The app is simple to use and super transparent, users can quickly order, get a summary of their expenses plus select an amount to tip the delivery person. The app is available on Android and iOS.

Masters of Code Hackathon Montreal

Recently the Masters of Code hackathon series hit Montreal and almost 120 coders, MasterCard staff, mentors and sponsors gathered for 24 hours of extreme coding. With a kickoff from MasterCard Canada’s President Brian Lang and prize presentations from Mung Ki Woo, Executive Vice President, Digital Products and Solutions at MasterCard, the event showed developers in Montreal just what it takes to win a MasterCard hackathon.

The Montreal edition of Masters of Code was part of the company’s ongoing outreach to developers and of its commitment to helping today’s tech innovators create tomorrow’s best technology. MasterCard worked with a number of local incubators, schools and their lead sponsor, National Bank of Canada, to get the word out to developers across the city. By the time Masters of Code started on Saturday morning the event was almost completely sold out.

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Masters of Code takes over Montreal this weekend

The search for the next big tech innovation is coming to Montreal this weekend. The MasterCard Masters of Code global developer competition will give Canadian coders the opportunity to bring their ideas to life by partnering with MasterCard and a chance at the global grand prize of USD$100,000. MasterCard’s Masters of Code competition will challenge Canada’s best developers to create an application that makes it easier for people to learn, travel, commute, shop or pay for everyday items.

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