AI Salon #9

We were thrilled to see over 150 participants register to join us in exploring one of today’s most relevant topics: 
 
We started the night with a panel on “Collaborative research & AI ecosystems: accelerating growth and talent acquisition.” Our panel brought together an exceptional group of experts driving this transformation, fostering collaboration across academia, industry, and research to accelerate both technological innovation and talent development. 
 
Chris Nanni, Talent Strategist (GuruLink) 
Gabrielle Langlois, Technology Transfer & Entrepreneurship Advisor (IVADO) 
Mark Maclean, Vice President, Foreign Investments (Montréal International) 
Jean-Simon Venne, CTO & Co-Founder (BrainBox AI) 
Moderated by Sylvain Carle 
 
Together, they explored how Canada, and especially Montréal, can turn its extraordinary research heritage into thriving, sustainable ventures.  
 
Key themes from the night: 
💡 Turning research into real products: from lab to market requires more than innovation, it takes translation infrastructure, patient capital, and collaborative IP frameworks. 
🤝 Making academia–industry partnerships work: mutual trust, shared incentives, and a culture of co-creation are essential to accelerate commercialization. 
🌍 Competing for AI talent: Montréal’s global reputation attracts top talent, but retaining graduates means offering them a chance to build meaningful products here, not just models abroad. 
💰 Funding smartly: the panel debated whether funding fuels growth or creates dependency, echoing our belief that sustainable innovation thrives when startups can stand on their own. 
The future of innovation belongs to those who can bridge research and reality, hardware and software, academia and industry.