Toronto’s Blossoming AI-driven Drug Discovery Scene
Canada has established itself as a rapidly growing global hub for artificial intelligence (AI) innovation and commercialization. This roots deep into the history of early programs and funding provided by Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) to such AI pioneers as Geoffrey Hinton, Yoshua Bengio, and Richard Sutton, as well as a tradition of focused government investment programs, private sector initiatives, a network of centers of excellence, and attractive immigration programs, aimed at catching top talent from overseas. Indeed, the government is quite active in pushing the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy, aiming at supporting AI research and talent attraction and retention in Canada.
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A city of Toronto appears to be a particularly busy area for AI-related business, with the city refereed as having “the densest cluster of AI startups in the world” according to a 2020 report by the University of Toronto. The area also appears to be a particularly sweet spot for AI companies focusing on pharmaceutical research, a birthplace for a plethora of top-notch players, including Atomwise (re-incorporated in the US), BenchSci, Cyclica, Deep Genomics, ProteinQure, and Phenomic AI, to name a few -- all trying to tackle some of the hardest challenges in modern drug discovery. Toronto’s blossoming AI ecosystem is largely influenced by the presence of Vector Institute, one of the top three National AI Institutes of Canada.
Image credit: R.M. Nunes iStock
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