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VOYAGE D'ETUDE : Innovation et Monétisation des Contenus Mobiles et Sociaux
Revue de Presse - News Service
L'actualité des médias, des technologies de l'information, et de l'innovation au Canada, à Toronto et Montréal.
Globe and Mail leads the pack at National Newspaper Awards
The Globe and Mail was the big winner at the 68th National Newspaper Awards, taking top prize in 11 of 21 categories, while foreign correspondent Mark MacKinnon was named Journalist of the Year. The Globe’s 11 wins were by far the most for any organization – no other outlet had more than two – and recognized the newspaper’s work on issues such as solitary confinement, the opioid crisis, Vancouver real estate, cash-for-access fundraisers and military suicides. More on The Globe and Mail (May 5, 2017)
113 enterprise AI companies you should know
Enterprise companies comprise a $3.4 trillion market worldwide of which an increasingly larger share is being allocated to artificial intelligence technologies.
By our definition, “enterprise” technology companies create tools for workplace roles and functions that a large number of businesses use. For example, Salesforce is the primary enterprise software used by sales professionals in a company. Also known as a type of customer relationship management software, or CRM, it is the system of record for sales professionals to enter in their contacts, progress of leads, and for sales metrics to be tracked. Any company directly selling their products and services would benefit from a CRM. More on Venturebeat (April 2017)
Silicon Valley talent is looking to Canada
Like many Canadian tech executives, Roy Pereira, CEO and founder of Zoom.ai Inc., struggles to hire and hold on to highly skilled engineers, code writers and seasoned managers. Canadian software engineering grads often head directly to tech hubs like Silicon Valley and San Francisco, or use an entry-level position at the Canadian arms of giants like Google or Facebook as launching pads for U.S. gigs. And who could blame them? The pay is better; the career horizons, wider. More on www.macleans.ca
The Store Of The Future: 133 Startups Transforming Brick-And-Mortar Retail In One Infographic
Brick-and-mortar retail is a high-stakes business. And, while it might seem as if e-commerce has taken over, Americans still do over 90% of our shopping in physical stores. In fact, one of the latest trends in retail is the launch of physical stores by online e-commerce companies, including Amazon, Warby Parker, and Birchbox. To help retailers bridge the gap between digital and physical commerce, and keep up with e-commerce competitors, dozens of startups have developed in-store technology ranging from shelf-stocking robots, to augmented reality displays, to Wi-Fi-based beacons that collect data on shopper behavior. Many companies focus on optimizing existing store operations with the injection of cloud-based software and mobile apps, helping retailers manage things like employee scheduling, mobile payments, coupons, and shelf stocking. Others have paved entirely new paths for data collection and shopper engagement. Many even leverage frontier technologies such as artificial intelligence, augmented/virtual reality, and Internet of Things connectivity. More on CB Insights (Sept 2016)
Quotidiens québécois: Le Journal de Montréal en tête, La Presse domine du côté numérique
L'enquête Vividata, qui couvre la période de janvier à décembre 2016 révèle que Le Journal de Montréal attire toujours le plus grand nombre de lecteurs combinés au Québec. Ricardo est en tête de classement pour les magazines. Sur l’ensemble de la semaine, à l’échelle québécoise (18+), Le Journal de Montréal récolte le plus grand lectorat moyen non dupliqué (2 896 000) pour les éditions numérique et papier. Suivent La Presse (2 161 000), Le Journal de Québec (1 478 000)et Le Devoir (901 000). Du côté numérique, La Presse prend la tête du peloton, avec un lectorat moyen de 1 910 000, suivi du Journal de Montréal(1 211 000), puis du Journal de Québec (651 000). A lire sur Infopresse (4 mai 2017)
8 tips for corporations to form beautiful partnerships with startups (Brian Zubert)
There is a lot to consider when an established business and a startup agree to work together. And it’s usually an exciting time. Both sides are generally interested in knowledge-sharing, having access to new resources, and of course getting a chance to explore new ideas. They also often include some uncertainty. Here are the eight tips Brian Zubert (Thomsonreuters Labs in Waterloo) shares on the approach Thomson Reuters takes to make partnerships with startups mutually beneficial. More on blogs.thomsonreuters.com
Torstar Corporation Reports First Quarter Results
Company reports $24.4 million lost in first quarter, but still an improvement over last year. Revenue at the publisher, which owns the Toronto Star, the Hamilton Spectator and Metro commuter papers among others, fell $18.1 million or 10 per cent year-over-year to $156.7 million in the quarter. That decline was impacted in particular by print advertising revenue, which fell 19 per cent, and subscriber revenue, which fell 9.5 per cent. online forum operator VerticalScope, which Torstar holds a 56 per cent stake in, saw revenue grow $1.5 million or 18 per cent. Management said it expects print advertising declines to continue, but believes digital revenues will stabilize through 2017, including further growth at VerticalScope. More on Financial Post and CNBC (May 3, 2017)
Thomson Reuters : Best Place to Work 2017 in Canada
Great Place to Work Institute Canada presents the 2017 list of “Best Workplaces in Canada - Large and Multinational”. The list was published as a Special National Report in The Globe and Mail on April 27, 2017. This year’s list recognizes 50 Best Large and Multinational Workplaces in Canada with more than 1000 employees working in Canada or worldwide. View more about Thomson Reuters in Toronto.
Quel avenir pour les hebdomadaires locaux et régionaux au Canada
Après l'annonce de TC Transcontinental du 18 avril de vendre ses 93 hebdomadaires, les journaux doivent penser à leur rentabilité future, à une époque où les géants de Silicon Valley vampirisent la majorité des revenus publicitaires. Réflexion de Gilber Paquette d’Hebdos Québec sur cet enjeu. A lire sur Infopresse (19 avril 2017)
How the Catalyst Fund for new ideas works at Thomson Reuters
Ideas are easy to harvest, sift, shape, and vote on. But when you actually want to make them real, you need cash. And often you need more than the $1000 that some innovation programs offer to participating employees. Thomson Reuters is one company that has come to the realization that building proof-of-concepts and prototypes can require significant funding. The $13 billion media and information company, headquartered in New York, created an internal seed fund called the Catalyst Fund in January 2014, overseen by CEO Jim Smith and Katherine Manuel, right, the Senior Vice President for Innovation. It provides up to $350,000 in funding to build and test prototypes. More on www.innovationleader.com and on blogs.thomsonreuters.com
A Compass to Canada’s Innovation + Entrepreneurship Ecosystem
Inspired by Nesta’s work in the United Kingdom, the Brookfield Institute has created this compass as a tool for all players in the Canadian innovation + entrepreneurship ecosystem. It maps out key players in the ecosustem and organizes them in a way that captures how these players complement one another to drive Canadian entrepreneurship and innovation. More on brookfieldinstitute.ca (2016)
Why Building World-Leading Clusters Matters
Whenever a particular area builds a critical mass of companies, scientists, knowledge workers and suppliers, the interactions between actors – both competitive and collaborative – become positively self-reinforcing. This elevates the entire cluster to more advanced levels of knowledge, expertise and productivity. This is how clusters like, yes, Silicon Valley, but also Boston (health technology) or Beer-Sheva in Israel (cyber security) have emerged as world leaders. With these considerations in mind, the Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship and the Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity present recommendations for Canada as it builds out its “supercluster” strategy. More on brookfieldinstitute.ca (April 2017)
Transcontinental met en vente 93 hebdos
Le groupe TC Transcontinental a annoncé le 18 avril qu'il mettait en vente 93 journaux hebdomadaires du Québec et de l'Ontario, y compris le quotidien gratuit Métro. Cette annonce s'inscrit dans la transformation de l'entreprise amorcée en 2016, notamment par la vente de tous sa branche média du Saskatchewan, poursuivie la semaine dernière par celle de tous ses journaux de l'Atlantique, et par l'acquisition des marques spécialisées en finance de Rogers à la fin de 2016. A lire sur Infopresse (18 avril 2017)
Québecor rapatrie sa production numérique et coupe chez Canoë
digital is not a platform, or a department, or a priority. Rather, it is a philosophy focused on putting your user first.
My favorite interview question to ask job candidates is, “What do you think it means to be digital?” The answer reveals a lot about how the individual thinks about being a journalist today. The goal of every great journalist is to find a way, despite any obstacles, to reach their audience. Today’s journalists must understand that we are not defined by a platform — be it print, broadcast, web, or social — but rather that our goal is to reach an audience, whatever platform they choose to be on. Because so many of our platforms are increasingly digital, we have conflated doing digital with being digital. So, what does it mean to be digital today? More on Medium (April 9, 2017). The second in a series of posts by David Skok. You can read the first post here.
partnering with innovators and disruptors to create and accelerate the next big ideas and businesses.
Thomson Reuters Labs around the world collaborate with start-ups to rapidly prototype and validate solutions using data science and lean techniques, and with customers to solve big problems and challenges. Working with external partners, Thomson Reuters Labs are active members of regional innovation ecosystems, creating world-class solutions for our customers. Thomson Reuters Labs – Waterloo Region in Ontario, Canada, enjoys a vibrant partnership with our site host, Communitech. This industry-led innovation center of nearly 1,000 companies is at the heart of the Toronto-area innovation and technology community. The Lab has two primary objectives: Innovation through applied research and experimentation on Thomson Reuters vast and unique data sets, helping to produce solutions for Thomson Reuters customers. Collaboration with academics, students and start-ups to put new technologies into practice, and meet the business challenges faced by Thomson Reuters customers. More in the Thomson Reuters annual report
Thomson Reuters Labs at Communitech : insight on how partnerships drive innovation and valuable customer experiences
Gone are the days of global businesses coding quietly in product development silos, filing their IP in the dark away from potential collaborators. To thrive in this world of disruptive technology, businesses of all sizes need to maintain conversations with tomorrow’s innovators, today’s entrepreneurs, and, of course, the customer. No one knows this better than Thomson Reuters Labs™ and Communitech, our innovation partner in Waterloo, Canada. While investigating the Partnership Equation for our 2016 Annual Report, we sat down with Iain Klugman, CEO of Communitech, and Brian Zubert, director of Thomson Reuters Labs – Waterloo, to share some insight on how partnerships drive innovation and valuable customer experiences. More on blogs.thomsonreuters.com (April 3, 2017)
Digital transformation means focusing on readers, not platforms.
In over 15 years of senior digital experience in North America’s leading news organizations as well as many conversations and meetings with news executives around the world, I know that most traditional news organizations are run by well-intentioned people with the desire to adapt in a digital world. For as long as I’ve been in the industry, publishers have been too focused on what is ultimately the wrong question: Do we hold on to today’s revenues or invest in tomorrow’s? In newsrooms around the world, attempts to grapple with the question has led to cultural struggles, between those focused on the realized revenues and resources of the legacy platform against those focused on unrealized revenues and resources of a future platform. More on Medium (April 2, 2017)
SlimCut Ranks #2 on Top 100 Video Properties in Canada
SlimCut Media tops ComScore rankings, placing 2nd in the Top 100 Video Properties overall in Canada. As Canada’s leading outstream native video provider, we are proud to support Canadian publishers. With over 3.6 million unique viewers counted in February for all of Canada, our reach continues to grow as we further onboard more of our nation’s premium publishers to the SlimCut network. More on Slimcutmedia.com (March 30)
Lightspeed was founded in Montreal in 2005 by CEO Dax Dasilva. The company offers a point-of-sale and ecommerce platform for small- and medium-sized businesses. In just over a decade the company has grown from four to 560 global staffers providing omni-channel solutions to 40,000 retailers, restaurants and point-of-sale businesses. Their core business is in the US, although they are truly global with customers in more than 100 countries worldwide. Despite offices in Ottawa, Ghent, Amsterdam, London, Olympia and New York, Dax kept his global headquarters in Montreal, moving into the historic Viger Hotel in 2015. Techvibes. A lire aussi "Lightspeed lance un «Shopify killer» sur lesaffaires.com (mars 2016)
How Trump Is Helping Canada Beat America
Without immigrants, Silicon Valley would look very different. There would be no Amazon, no eBay. No Reddit, no Intel. Google, Tesla, and Yahoo? Gone. And you can say goodbye to your iPhone. These are just a few of the biggest names, but half of all billion-dollar U.S. startups were founded by immigrants. Silicon Valley would simply not exist, and the United States’ position as a global tech leader might never have come to fruition. More on Time (March 30, 2017)
Mobile Heat Map: Social And Health Emerge As The Hottest Areas
Private companies in the mobile industry have seen tremendous 661% growth in funding over the past 5 years. What are the specific industry categories that have been most targeted by investments, and where are deals more thin on the ground? More on CB Insights (June 2016)
100 millions pour un institut de recherche en intelligence artificielle à Toronto
Le gouvernement fédéral et celui de l'Ontario investissent ensemble 100 millions de dollars dans un tout nouvel institut indépendant de recherche sur l'intelligence artificielle, à Toronto. L'Institut Vecteur, inauguré jeudi, se spécialisera dans l'«apprentissage automatique et profond», un secteur qui utilise les logiciels et les algorithmes afin de simuler les circuits neuronaux du cerveau humain. A lire sur La Presse (30 mars 2017)
Investissements publicitaires : le Canada dans le Top 10 mondial
Baromètre du commerce en ligne au Québec
Selon une nouvelle étude Netendances du Cefrio, une majorité (57%) d'adultes québécois ont effectué des achats en ligne en 2016. Le commerce en ligne progresse de 6%. Les 18-44 ans et ceux au revenu supérieur à 60 000$ sont les plus nombreux à acheter en ligne. La presse et l'édition enregistrent un score honnête avec 21% des achats, devant le secteur des voyages et des transports. A lire sur le site de Cefrio (mars 2017)
Moins de blogues pour La Presse
Sur le site web de La Presse, quatre blogues ont annoncé leur fermeture, invitant les lecteurs à suivre les blogueurs sur de nouvelles pages Facebook. A lire sur Infopresse (29 mars 2017)
Alexandre Taillefer: «Les médias doivent se lier, puis adopter une approche conjointe»
De la réalité augmentée dans les pages du Soleil
Le journal Le Soleil, propriété du Groupe Capitales Médias, dévoile un nouveau format publicitaire qui propose du contenu exclusif de Voyages CAA en réalité augmentée, accessible en numérisant une page du quotidien à l'aide d'une application mobile. A lire sur Infopresse (27 mars 2017)
Habitudes en ligne: la vidéo et l’audio les plus populaires
Les vidéos en ligne représentent la source de divertissement la plus répandue chez les francophones, selon le plus récent rapport de l'Observateur des technologies médias (OTM), qui analyse les activités sur Internet des Canadiens francophones. A lire sur Infopresse (24 mars 2017)
Silicon Valley is no longer #1 for talent says huge global startup report
The Canadian venture capital community has grown substantially and savvy international investors are recognizing that Toronto is an under-tapped market for technology, in fields including AI, fintech and health. As a result, we’re seeing higher raises and record venture capital funding. I think where Toronto really stands apart from other North American cities is on talent. Toronto is the most diverse city in the world, so founders are able to build diverse teams and take on a global approach to business from the beginning. More on thenextweb.com (March 20, 2017)
Canada shoots for tech boost as Trump shuts doors
“Toronto was not considered an innovation center, but MaRs has put us on the map,” said Cory Mulvihill, in charge of policy and public affairs at MaRS. “We have investors coming here because they know medical assets are coming out of here.” Set up some 15 years ago, the initiative, a joint venture of the governments of Ontario and Canada, the City of Toronto and the University of Toronto, is today home to 100 startups and a total of some 200 entities including academic research bodies, VC funds and more established players who work in the fields of health, energy and environment, finance, commerce and education. The complex doubled its capacity a year ago and is now a 1.5 million sq. ft. complex, said Mulvihill. More on Times of Israel Start-Ups Israel (March 20, 2017)
La confiance des Québécois envers les entreprises à son plus bas (Baromètre Edelman 2017)
Le Québec avait été relativement épargné quant à la méfiance envers les quatre piliers (ONG, entreprises, médias et gouvernement) évalués par la version québécoise du Baromètre de la confiance Edelman les trois dernières années. Toutefois, il est durement touché cette année. Il se met ainsi au diapason avec les résultats de l’ensemble du pays et de partout. Les médias et les entreprises sont particulièrement en baisse, ayant tous deux chuté de 10 points par rapport à 2016. A lire sur Infopresse (16 mars 2017)
Stitch Labs Announces Partnership with Lightspeed to Enable Growth for Omnichannel Retailers
Stitch Labs, the leading inventory management platform, announced their partnership with Lightspeed, the most robust and intuitive POS system and eCommerce solution for retailers. This integration will further simplify the operational challenges retailers face when growing an omnichannel business. More on wandtv.com (March 14, 2017
Museums as newsrooms, university profs as journalists
Whatever the business models of the future look like, journalists will continue to work within an information ecosystem where non-journalists’ reports and images are prevalent — and needed. Where in the community will we find or create these other sources of reliable civic information? In museums? That isn’t a joke. Consider a display on the anti-gay bullying of a teenager, part of a permanent exhibit at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg. It outlines a real Supreme Court case, giving different perspectives on the issue and pausing occasionally to ask visitors their take on the questions before the court. At the end, visitors find out how their responses compare to those of others viewing the material — and to the court’s decision in the case. When Ryerson University journalism professor and former department chair Ivor Shapiro saw the exhibit, he came away thinking it could be seen as a form of alternative journalism. More on The Toronto Star (March 11, 2017)
Le Montréalais Joe Poulin vend Luxury Retreats à Airbnb pour 300 millions US
C’est à 17 ans que l’entrepreneur montréalais a fondé Luxury Retreats, une firme de location de villas de luxe sur l’internet, pour en faire un leader mondial dans son domaine avec un catalogue de plus de 4000 propriétés dans 90 marchés et un service spécialisé de conciergerie qui répond à toutes les demandes de ses usagers. Luxury Retreats réalise plus de 150 millions US de revenus par an. "Je ne peux pas commenter les détails financiers de la transaction. Mais Airbnb a payé en argent comptant et actions pour faire notre acquisition. Je me suis fait payer en actions et argent. Le fonds iNovia, qui était actionnaire minoritaire, s’est fait payer tout en argent », précise toutefois Joe Poulin. A lire sur La Presse (14 mars 2017)
Trump's ban on immigration could have an unexpected beneficiary: Canadian start-ups
Venture capitalists and angel investors in Canada said his executive order could cause highly educated immigrants — an important talent pool for fast-growing technology companies who need engineers, developers and salespeople — to seek work in hubs across...More on CNBC (March 3, 2017)
Canadian production company presents interactive VR sci-fi TV show
Montreal based virtual reality production company UNLTD, presented the trailer for its first interactive, virtual reality sci-fi show, “Trinity.” Speaking at SXSW in Austin, company CEO and producer John Hamilton says, the series will consist of five fifteen-minute episodes. Trinity will be platform-agnostic to allow compatibility with all virtual reality headsets for viewing. More on Haptical (March 14, 2017)
Médias: le Québec récompensé sept fois à New York
Canada is now home to some of the toughest anti-piracy rules in the world
Canada last overhauled its copyright law in 2012, bringing to a conclusion more than a decade of failed bills and lobbying pressure. The public debate over the Copyright Modernization Act was often framed by disputed claims that Canada was weak on piracy, with critics arguing that updated laws were needed to crack down on copyright infringement. As the government prepares to conduct a statutorily-mandated review of the law later this year, the landscape has shifted dramatically with court cases and industry data confirming that Canada is now home to some of the toughest anti-piracy rules in the world. More in The Globe and Mail (March 6, 2017)
A booming start-up center north of the border is rivaling Silicon Valley
Allen Lau, CEO of the fast-growing storytelling app Wattpad, believes running his company in Toronto gives him an unfair advantage over his entrepreneurial counterparts in Silicon Valley. In Silicon Valley, where he ran a previous company, he'd be vying for engineers against Google and Facebook. "To compete in that environment for the best talent would be very, very fierce," says Lau. "In a smaller pond we are the bigger fish. That helps us attract the best possible talent." More on CNBC (March 6, 2017)
Ententes de distribution de contenus: le cas du Québec
À l’heure où Netflix multiplie les ententes avec les exploitants de téléphonie cellulaire et de câblodistribution pour étendre son marché à l'international, comment le marché québécois peut-il se positionner pour tirer son épingle du jeu? Olivier Trudeau et Christiane Asselin de Radio-Canada commentent. A lire sur Infopresse (6 mars 2017)
Torstar names marketing ‘turnaround specialist’ John Boynton as new CEO and publisher of the Toronto Star
Torstar Corp., Canada’s second largest newspaper publisher and the owner of the Toronto Star, has tapped career marketing executive John Boynton to take on the role of president and chief executive officer. He will start in the job March 31, succeeding David Holland. More on Financial Post (March 4, 2017)
Trudeau's plan to lure Silicon Valley investors to Canada
Thanks in part to a large-scale government commitment to supporting high-growth job-creating businesses, many homegrown start-ups are attracting financing from both Canadian venture capital firms and U.S. firms, which often invest alongside them. Last year Canada saw four venture capital deals above 100 million Canadian dollars (USD $76.3 million as of Feb. 23), compared to 2015, when there were none, according to the Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association. "Tech is seen as an important sector for the country," says Zuckerman. It's a very visible one, too. "You routinely see Prime Minister Justin Trudeau show up in the same room where all the founders show up," said Ben Baldwin, founder of ScaleDriver, a Toronto management consultancy that advises executives on building innovation, and founder of The Founder City Project, a network of start-up and scale-up founders. More on CNBC (March 2, 2017)
Budget fédéral 2017: miser sur l'innovation
Le prochain budget du gouvernement fédéral devrait en principe se concentrer sur la croissance, en ciblant certains secteurs de l'économie, ainsi que sur la stimulation de l'innovation, si l'on en croit les recommandations qu'on fait un groupe d'experts au ministre des Finances du Canada. Bien que la croissance et l'innovation soient toujours bonnes à prendre, il y a néanmoins une bonne et une mauvaise façon de les favoriser. La bonne, c'est de permettre aux entreprises d'investir elles-mêmes et de conserver des règles de jeu équitable pour tous les secteurs de l'économie: aéronautique, mines, agriculture, énergie, sciences de la vie, fabrication, services, et j'en passe, tous doivent être mis sur un pied d'égalité. A lire sur Huffington Post (2 mars 2017)
Mentoring Start-ups: The Mistakes and Successes Of Emerging Tech Companies
One of the greatest start-up accelerators in Canada lies in the Waterloo Region. Communitech is nestled in a reclaimed factory building and is home to over 350 emerging companies. Our guest, Steve McCartney is the VP of Start-up Services at this powerful hub. Steve came to the AQ studio to tell us a bit about the business side of running an incubator. Steve walks us through the process of joining Communitech as a start-up, whether coming with an idea, a work in process, or a fully operational product. He explains the funding process, from early stage to venture capital and discusses big mistakes he has witnessed in young emerging companies. Steve remarks on the common denominator found in successful start-ups and how growing companies can find and keep talent. More on Youtube (Feb 24, 2017)
Canada Has A Better Place For Women in Tech
The numbers are telling: 12.5% of partners at venture capital firms in Canada are women - nearly double than that of the U.S., which hovers at a meager 7%. As Investment Director at MaRS IAF, which will manage one of the few funds in the world with capital dedicated exclusively for women-led ventures, I’d argue that the U.S. should model Canada’s large-scale culture change - from government-funded innovation initiatives to grassroots networking. Beyond the photo-op, here’s what I believe has made Canada successful and what America can learn. More on Fortune (Feb 22, 2017)
Les grandes tendances médias au Canada à surveiller en 2017
Le Fonds des médias du Canada vient de dévoiler son rapport sur les tendances médias de 2017. Sous quatre grands axes, l’étude se penche cette année sur les possibilités de créer de la valeur dans une industrie numérique en pleine mutation. A lire sur Infopresse (14 février 2017)
Canada: home to three of the top 20 startup ecosystems in the world
Canada is home to three of the top 20 startup ecosystems in the world, but is falling behind the pace of other leaders, according to an exhaustive study conducted by researchers at San Francisco-based Compass – formerly known as Startup Genome. More on PanamericanWorld (January 2016)
Quand Montréal aide les machines à apprendre
Comment tirer profit du big data, ces mégadonnées que nous générons à la tonne avec nos gadgets électroniques? Montréal est à l’avant-garde de la recherche dans ce domaine, qui permet des avancées spectaculaires dans plusieurs sphères du quotidien. A lire sur Nouveau Projet
Microsoft investit en intelligence artificielle à Montréal
Le géant de l’informatique Microsoft se porte acquéreur de Maluuba, une firme de Waterloo, en Ontario, qui a ouvert en mars 2016 à Montréal un laboratoire en apprentissage profond, la branche la plus en vue de l’intelligence artificielle (IA). Cette transaction met les projecteurs sur Montréal comme lieu de recherche dans une sphère d’expertise pointue appelée à se développer très fortement dans les prochaines années. A lire sur La Presse (14 janvier 2017)
Microsoft is betting on Element AI and Canada’s AI startup community to drive cloud adoption.
Microsoft is one of several major IT players racing to build the AI (Artificial Intelligence) startup community. In December 2016, the company announced a major step forward in its quest to “democratize” AI with the establishment of a new Microsoft Ventures fund specifically dedicated to funding investment in AI companies. Microsoft Ventures’ first investment was significant for Canada: Element AI is an artificial intelligence incubator and platform located in the heart one of Canada’s technology development hubs in Montreal. According to the investment announcement, Element AI funding was designed to support Element AI’s role in helping large corporations, world-class entrepreneurs and researchers solve hard problems with AI. More on insightaas.com (Jan 30, 2017)
Du vent dans les voiles pour les entreprises canadiennes en 2017
Les perspectives s’annoncent bonnes pour les entreprises canadiennes en 2017. Elles connaîtront des investissements plus importants qu’en 2016. C’est un sondage de la Banque de développement du Canada (BDC) qui met ainsi en lumière le vent de fraîcheur qui soufflera sur le secteur entrepreneurial cette année. A lire sur Radio Canada International (Janvier 2017)
Meet the new Canadian banker: The tech rockstars who are taking over Bay Street
Nish Samantray isn’t your typical banker. He graduated from the University of Toronto with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, and is a self-taught coder who in just two years founded and built a software startup and sold it back to his alma mater. After the acquisition, he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. But after a chance meeting with a Bank of Nova Scotia executive, who pitched him on the storied institution’s digital transformation, his interest was piqued. Now he’s one of more than 200 employees who have already set up shop at the bank’s new 70,000-square-foot “digital factory” in downtown Toronto, which was officially unveiled late last month. More on Financial Post (February 6, 2017)
Le Quartier de l’innovation de Montréal, laboratoire effervescent
Au sud du centre-ville de Montréal, le Quartier de l’innovation de Montréal, premier accessit au Grand Prix de l’innovation urbaine de Monde en avril 2016, est en effervescence. Ses incubateurs et accélérateurs d’entreprises sont passés de 7 à 12, ses partenaires privés de 20 à 25, ses universités membres de 3 à 4 et plus de quarante projets sont en cours de réalisation. A lire sur Le Monde (7 février 2017)
Thomson Reuters Continues Expansion of Global Labs Network
Thomson Reuters has officially opened Thomson Reuters Labs – Singapore. The innovation facility aims to collaborate with customers, tech startups, universities and the Singapore government to roll out products and solutions for professional markets in the Asia Pacific. The lab will also support Thomson Reuters’s financial & risk, tax & accounting and legal businesses across Asia Pacific. The facility, located in Singapore’s central business district, is the first Thomson Reuters Labs to open in Asia. Thomson Reuters’s other innovation labs are located in Boston, Cape Town, London, Waterloo (Canada) and Zürich. More on Fintech Innovation (February 22, 2017)
Element AI : mettre l'intelligence artificielle au service des entreprises
Selon Jean-Francois Gagné, directeur général et l'un des cofondateurs d'Element AI, la plupart des entreprises ne peuvent pas embaucher des spécialistes en intelligence artificielle, car ces derniers préfèrent aller chez les géants de la techno. Il y a pénurie de main-d'oeuvre dans le domaine. Element AI veut donc mailler les entreprises et les chercheurs pour développer à Montréal des solutions en intelligence artificielle. A lire sur Radio Canada (octobre 2016)
Google Canada’s top engineer on how to build an innovation economy
If we’re going to build an innovation economy, we need to rethink how we tackle immigration, entrepreneurship and education. We must develop and attract more talent faster. We also need to ensure that the highest-potential Canadian startups are equipped with the tools to grow with focused investment in incubators, accelerators and organizations committed to fostering innovative ideas – from Communitech to MaRS and DMZ to Notman House and CDL. And, of course, we need to nurture the next generation of Canadian technology builders. It’s time to talk seriously about integrating computer science and computational thinking into formal curriculum (98 per cent of Google engineers in Canada had some exposure to computer science before university). These issues don’t change the fact that the talent and the energy coming out of our startup community rivals the best the Valley has to offer. In 2008, I jumped at the opportunity to return to Canada and to grow Google’s presence in Waterloo. Google recognized something special was happening up here – the entrepreneurialism, the quality of higher education and the loyalty of the talented engineers who just want to invent great things. More in The Globe and Mail (October 28, 2016)
Une plate-forme de monétisation pour venir à la rescousse des médias
Le dernier investissement d'Alexandre Taillefer (photo) et Guy Laliberté : une plateforme de monétisation pour venir à la rescousse des médias. Le cofondateur du Cirque du Soleil et l'entrepreneur Alexandre Taillefer investissent dans Média Boutique, un « spin-off » du modèle de monétisation publicitaire du magazine Voir qui se veut un « contrepoids » à l'exode des revenus publicitaires vers Google et Facebook, a appris La Presse (24 novembre 2016)
Startup city: The high-tech fever reshaping Kitchener-Waterloo
As BlackBerry fades to a shadow of its former self, a new generation of entrepreneurs is rising out of the Waterloo region. At its centre is an indispensable institution, talented inventors and a dedicated group of community leaders co-operating to support the hub’s ambition to become a world-class technology centre. More on The Globe and Mail (July 17, 2015)
Shopify’s new R&D office in Toronto points to huge expansion ambitions
Well on its way to becoming the most influential tech company in Canada, Shopify is growing – and growing fast. The e-commerce platform company just opened its second Toronto office, Shopify R&D located in the city’s downtown, a short walk from its primary headquarters in the commerce capital of the country (their main HQ for the company overall is in Ottawa). Toronto Mayor John Tory attended the opening, hailing the city as one that “welcomes disruption,” and praising Shopify as a key ingredient in terms of attracting and keeping talent to the area. More on Techcrunch (Jan 19, 2017)
Microsoft acquires Maluuba, a startup focused on general artificial intelligence
Microsoft has acquired Canadian startup Maluuba, a company founded by University of Waterloo grads Kaheer Suleman and Sam Pasupalak that also participated in TechCrunch’s 2012 San Francisco Startup Battlefield competition. Maluuba focuses on natural language processing, in service of pursuing general artificial intelligence, or building computers that can think like people. The Montreal-based company focuses on using deep learning and reinforcement learning to increase the proficiency and effectiveness of computer-based systems that can answer questions and make decisions, and Microsoft notes in a blog post that its work will help with Microsoft’s broad goal of making AI more accessible and useful to the general public. More on Techcrunch (Jan 13, 2017)
Vous cherchez un emploi à temps plein? Montréal est la ville canadienne qu'il vous faut
Le nouveau champion de l'emploi à temps plein au Canada est le Québec, et plus précisément Montréal. Selon des données de Statistique Canada, en 2016, Montréal a créé plus d'emplois à temps plein que tout le reste du pays combiné - pour un total de 74 000 en un an. Et ce n'est pas tout. Si on fait abstraction des opportunités créées à Montréal, le reste du Canada a perdu 13 600 postes à temps plein. Le taux de chômage à Montréal est à son plus bas depuis 30 ans, rapporte la CBC, avec 6,8 %, soit 2 points de pourcentage de moins que l'année précédente. A lire sur Huffington Post (20 janvier 2017)
Urbania s'amène à Radio-Canada
Après son magazine interactif lancé en novembre dernier dans La Presse+, Urbania s’associe à Radio-Canada pour présenter du contenu original multiplateforme. Philippe Lamarre, président et fondateur d’Urbania Média, en explique les contours. A lire sur Infopresse (15 Février 2017)
Le Journal de Montréal reste en tête au Québec
Le Journal de Montréal domine au Québec en matière de lectorat moyen pour l'ensemble des plateformes, alors que La Presse mène le bal pour la portion numérique. C'est ce que révèle le rapport Q3 de Vividata pour les mois d’octobre 2015 à septembre 2016. A lire sur Infopresse (23 février 2017)
When tech firm Lightspeed outgrew its home, CEO gave back to Montreal
When tech firm Lightspeed POS Inc. quickly outgrew its stylishly renovated warehouse space in Montreal’s trendy Mile-Ex neighbourhood, founder and chief executive officer Dax Dasilva, 39, got to thinking not only about where in his beloved adopted city to relocate but also about what to do with the digs being left behind. The mission of the centre is to create positive change in unity through culture. And culture takes many forms. The Globe and Mail
How to empower your team in a competitive market
Standing out in a competitive market is about more than just the product; it’s about the people. Being a strong leader comes from championing your team – locally and globally – with exciting experiences and opportunities that increase motivation. It’s one of the pillars of success for my executive team at Lightspeed, and an empowering motto for growing companies. This column is part of Globe Careers’ Leadership Lab series, where executives and experts share their views and advice about leadership and management (Sept 2016)
