State ties up with Canadian institute for AI accelerator

CM signs agreement during his week-long foreign tour

The State government on Monday signed a collaborative agreement with Canada’s L’institut de Valorisation Des Données (IVADO) to set up an Artificial Intelligence (AI) accelerator in Mumbai.

Also known as the Institute for Data Valorisation, IVADO is a global leader for industrial research in the field of deep learning. The landmark agreement was signed by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and the head of Campus Montreal, a Canadian government initiative with the Université de Montréal, Polytechnique Montréal and HEC Montréal, a senior official said. Mr. Fadnavis is on a week-long tour of the U.S and Canada.

IVADO was established in September 2016 by the Canadian government as part of the Montreal Institute for Learning Algorithms, a platform created with government funds and aid from private sector entities, such as Google and Microsoft.

More MoUs on cards

Senior officials accompanying Mr. Fadnavis on the visit to Montreal said that as part of the tour to explore the concepts and applications of deep learning, the State government will sign more agreements in the field of AI. The CM will, in the coming days, meet Cisco’s CEO Chuck Robbins to discuss the use of AI in Maharashtra.

On June 15, AI-related talks will be held in Washington DC with Safra Katz, CEO of Oracle, and CEOs of HPE and HPC. “Montreal has emerged as the powerhouse of leading AI research and transformative business application based on deep learning. Mr. Fadnavis is visiting the city on the invitation of the Canadian prime minister and is likely to sign key MoUs there,” said an aide of the CM, who is part of the delegation.

The CM also signed a deal to be part of an International Working Group for sustainable agricultural practices. Later in the day, the State delegation took part in a panel discussion on governance through AI, a conference on ‘Leading Global Growth in the era of Competitive Federalism.’ The CM wound up for the day after meeting top officials of the Canadian Imperial Bank.

Attracting investment

The plans for the AI centre in Mumbai were unveiled during the Magnetic Maharashtra Summit and at the Global Economic Conference in Canada earlier this year. Officials hope the institute will give a fresh impetus to the ‘fourth industrial revolution’, and promote Mumbai as an investment destination in innovations and data analysis. Maharashtra is already experimenting with AI in the health sector.