Vector Institute (Canada) Explained

Vector Institute
Type:Independent, nonprofit artificial intelligence organization
Headquarters:Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Purpose:Research in machine learning
Num Employees:714[1]

The Vector Institute is a private, non-profit artificial intelligence research institute in Toronto focusing primarily on machine learning and deep learning research. As of 2023, it consists of 143 faculty members and affiliates — 38 of which are CIFAR AI chairs — 57 postdoctoral fellows, and 502 students.[2] Along with the University of Toronto, the Vector Institute is affiliated with faculty from universities across Ontario, as well as British Columbia and Nova Scotia.

Along with Montreal's Mila and Alberta's Amii, the Vector Institute is a member of the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy.[3]

History

Vector was established by Brendan Frey, Geoffrey Hinton, Raquel Urtasun in 2017[4] with the objectives of retaining and recruiting researchers in Toronto and encouraging companies to establish labs in the city.[5]

On January 2, 2018, Garth Gibson became Vector's first president and CEO,[6] and in 2023, was replaced by Tony Gaffney.[7] [8] The institute was housed in the MaRS Discovery District[9] and, in 2024, moved to the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Center.[10]

Funding

At the end of its founding, the Vector Institute received a combined total of $200 million CAD from private and public sectors.[11] The sources of its private sector funding include, among others, Uber,[12] Google,[13] and Shopify.[14] In 2019, the Government of Ontario cut its funding of CIFAR and the Vector Institute by $24 million CAD.[15] As part of the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence strategy, the Vector Institute, Mila, and Amii received another $60 million CAD in 2021 from the Government of Canada.[16]

Operations

The institute supports foundational and applied AI research,[17] and mitigates brain drain in Canada.[18] Their research priorities are:

One of the goals of the institute is to support AI adoption in industries. They have helped reduce energy consumption at Telus,[19] built recommendation systems with Wahi,[20] and partnered with Kids Help Phone to build tools that help guide councillors during conversations with children.[21] They have built open source tools to monitor clinical models in production.[22]

The institute has given out $2 million CAD in masters scholarships, valued at $17,500 each.[23]

Faculty

As of June 2024, Vector's research is led by Chief Scientific Advisor Geoffrey Hinton and Research Director Daniel Roy.[24] Other faculty members include, among many others, Alán Aspuru-Guzik, Brendan Frey, Gillian Hadfield, and Sheila McIlraith.[24]

Board of Directors

As of March 31, 2023, the Vector Institute's board of directors consists of:

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Vector Research . December 30, 2023.
  2. Web site: 2023 . Vector Annual Report 2022-23 . Vector Institute.
  3. Web site: Canada's AI leadership strengthened through new and renewed Canada CIFAR AI Chairs under the Pan-Canadian AI Strategy . . Kathleen Sandusky . 27 April 2023. December 5, 2023.
  4. Web site: Toronto's Vector Institute officially launched . Jennifer Robinson . . March 30, 2017 . November 29, 2023.
  5. Web site: Toronto, the Quietly Booming Tech Town . Cade Metz . . March 21, 2022 . December 29, 2023.
  6. Web site: Vector Institute names Garth Gibson as CEO . Jessica Galang . Betakit . September 26, 2017 . December 29, 2023.
  7. Web site: Vector Institute taps seasoned executive Tony Gaffney to lead AI hub for next five years . Charles Mandel . Betakit . January 4, 2023 . December 29, 2023.
  8. Web site: Tony Gaffney . 2024-06-21 . Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence . en-CA.
  9. Web site: Canada 'lost the lead' on artificial intelligence. Here's how Toronto will get it back . Kate McGillivray . . March 29, 2017 . December 30, 2023.
  10. Web site: U of T gets $100M donation for innovation centre studying AI . Sarah Law . . March 25, 2019 . December 30, 2023.
  11. Web site: Canadian government, businesses back $150 million artificial intelligence institute . Denny Thomas . . March 28, 2017 . December 30, 2023.
  12. Web site: Transforming transportation in Toronto . Travis Kalanick . . May 8, 2017 . December 30, 2023.
  13. Web site: Darrell Etherington . March 30, 2017 . Google bets on AI in Canada with Google Brain Toronto and Vector Institute investment . December 30, 2023 . TechCrunch.
  14. Web site: Shopify, Google among 30 companies committing combined $80 million over 10 years to Vector Institute . Jessica Galang . BetaKit . March 30, 2017 . December 30, 2023.
  15. Web site: Ontario government cuts $24 million in AI research funding . . May 21, 2019 . December 30, 2023.
  16. Web site: June 22, 2022 . Government of Canada launches second phase of the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy . December 30, 2023 . Government of Canada.
  17. Web site: Vector Research . December 30, 2023.
  18. Web site: Garth Gibson: Celebrating Vector’s First Year in the AI Ecosystem . Vector Institute . March 29, 2018 . December 30, 2023.
  19. Web site: Canada’s three National AI Institutes advance AI solutions for energy and the environment . Kathleen Sandusky . . April 17, 2023 . December 30, 2023.
  20. Web site: Wahi Launches First AI-Powered Realtor Recommendation System in Canada . Newswire . June 22, 2023 . January 1, 2024.
  21. Web site: Kids Help Phone seeking help from AI tech to meet demand for mental health support . Nicole Ireland . . July 5, 2023 . December 30, 2023.
  22. Web site: AI centres of excellence and companies collaborate on apps . Norm Tollinsky . Canadian Healthcare Technology . November 1, 2022 . December 30, 2023.
  23. Web site: Vector Institute awards nearly $2 million in scholarships for Ontario AI students . Charlize Alcaraz . BetaKit . May 11, 2022 . December 30, 2023.
  24. Web site: Research Team . June 22, 2024 . Vector Institute.

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