Montréal selected to host major artificial intelligence summit

Inspired Minds, the organizers of the World Summit AI, whose second edition is currently taking place in Amsterdam, have announced that they will be holding a similar event in the Americas from 2019 to 2021. Thus, the World Summit AI Americas will be held in Montréal for at least three years.

Tourisme Montréal has signed a four-year agreement with Inspired Minds, the London-based firm behind Word Summit AI. The fact that Montréal was selected to host the Americas version of the event confirms the destination’s leadership in artificial intelligence (AI). The event is expected to attract 6,000 participants, which will amount to 32,500 room nights in Montréal hotels during this period.

“I am delighted that the collaboration between Tourisme Montréal and Inspired Minds has led to this exciting announcement. I would like to thank the entire AI community in Montréal, and in particular Yoshua Bengio from the University of Montréal and Element IA for helping make this possible,” said Yves Lalumière, President and CEO of Tourisme Montréal.

In the past few years, Montréal has become a global hub for research and excellence in AI. The city boasts a strong academic base, particularly at McGill University and the University of Montréal, where Professor Yoshua Bengio, the leading expert in the field, works. Montréal is also home to the Institut de valorisation des données (IVADO), and has attracted major digital players such as Google, Microsoft, IBM, Samsung, Thalès and Facebook, all of which have set up AI research labs in the city.

“We are very proud to welcome the coming editions of the World Summit AI. The quality of our research centres and the dynamism of our innovation ecosystem make Montréal the ideal place to discuss the latest advances in the field of intelligence,” said Montréal Mayor Valérie Plante.

“The BEC team, together with the Canadian High Commission in London, identified this bid opportunity for Canada and hosted the client to BEC’s inaugural Innovate Canada in Montréal this past May, but it was the collaboration between Tourisme Montréal and Montréal’s AI community that solidified the win,” says Chantal Sturk-Nadeau, Executive Director of Business Events Canada. “Proof, yet again, that when we all work together great things can be accomplished.”