Facebook to Open Artificial Intelligence Center in Montreal
September 14 2017 - 7:33PM
Dow Jones News
By David George-Cosh and Jacquie McNish
Facebook Inc. plans to announce the opening of a new artificial
intelligence center in Montreal on Friday, marking the latest move
by a U.S. firm to tap into Canada's expertise in the technology,
according to two people familiar with the matter.
Facebook plans to relocate staff from its headquarters in Palo
Alto, Calif., and also tap local talent, one person said.
Facebook opened an office in Montreal in 2013 in a move to
better serve Quebec and French-speaking businesses looking to
expand their presence on the social network. It also has offices in
Toronto and Vancouver.
In March, the Canadian government said it would dedicate 125
million Canadian dollars ($94 million) to develop AI research
across the country, focusing on Montreal, Toronto and Edmonton, all
cities with top universities that specialize in the technology.
Part of that funding went to the Vector Institute, a Toronto-based
organization aimed at luring top minds in the AI field. It has also
drawn investment from Alphabet Inc.'s Google and Uber Technologies
Inc.
Facebook's investment in Montreal comes within a year after
Google opened a new artificial intelligence lab dedicated to deep
learning, a type of machine-learning technology.
Facebook is relying more on artificial intelligence to improve
its capacity to identify and block posts that include terrorist
imagery, child pornography and fake news. Government officials in
Germany and France have criticized social media for their slow
response to removing fake news and hate speech.
Google last year provided $3.33 million in grant funding to the
Montreal Institute for Learning Algorithms, an academic lab based
at the University of Montreal that focuses on machine learning.
And Microsoft Corp. acquired Maluuba, an AI startup based in
Montreal, in January for an undisclosed sum. The tech company's
venture fund took a stake in Element AI, a Montreal-based startup,
in 2016.
Write to David George-Cosh at david.george-cosh@wsj.com and
Jacquie McNish at Jacquie.McNish@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 14, 2017 19:18 ET (23:18 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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