Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the hottest buzzwords in the technology world nowadays, and almost every company is making some sort of investment in it, from the major research centers being opened to the mundane implementations in higher-end smartphones.
With that being said, it"s not really surprising to see Nvidia, better known for its graphics cards, opening up its own lab dedicated to the technology. The research lab will be based in Toronto, next to the company"s office in the city, which opened back in 2015. The new lab will increase the size of the office by half, and Nvidia aims to use it to triple the number of researchers working in AI and deep learning by the end of 2018.
The research lab will be led by Sanja Fidler, computer scientist and professor at the University of Toronto. Fidler"s research is mostly focused on "deep learning and computer vision, with a connection to natural language processing", and she will retain her position as a professor while leading the new lab.
The Canadian government welcomes the investment, with Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development saying:
The fundamental AI work being done in Toronto is further solidifying Canada’s place as a world-leader in the field. Our talent and innovation ecosystem make us an attractive place for companies, like NVIDIA, to grow and create well-paying jobs for Canadians (...)
Canada has been growing as a technology hub, with Google"s parent company Alphabet even partnering with the city of Toronto to build an entire futuristic neighborhood in the region.
Source: Nvidia via VentureBeat | Image credit: Urlaubsguru.de