Vector Institute
Formation2017 (2017)
TypeIndependent, nonprofit artificial intelligence organization
PurposeResearch in machine learning
HeadquartersToronto, Ontario, Canada
Employees
714[1]
Websitewww.vectorinstitute.ai

The Vector Institute is a private, non-profit artificial intelligence research institute in Toronto focusing primarily on machine learning and deep learning research. As of 2023, it consists of 143 faculty members and affiliates — 38 of which are CIFAR AI chairs — 57 postdoctoral fellows, and 502 students.[2] Along with the University of Toronto, the Vector Institute is affiliated with faculty from universities across Ontario, as well as British Columbia and Nova Scotia.[2]

Along with Montreal's Mila (research institute) and Alberta's Amii (research institute), the Vector Institute is a member of the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy.[3]

History

Vector was established by Brendan Frey, Geoffrey Hinton, Raquel Urtasun in 2017[4] with the objectives of retaining and recruiting researchers in Toronto and encouraging companies to establish labs in the city.[5]

On January 2, 2018, Garth Gibson became Vector's first president and CEO,[6] and in 2023, would be replaced by Tony Gaffney.[7] The institute was housed in the MaRS Discovery District[8] and, in 2024, moved to the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Center.[9]

Funding

At the end of its founding, the Vector Institute received a combined total of $200 million CAD from private and public sectors.[10] The sources of its private sector funding include, among others, Uber,[11] Google,[12] and Shopify.[13] In 2019, the Government of Ontario cut its funding of CIFAR and the Vector Institute by $24 million CAD.[14] As part of the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence strategy, the Vector Institute, Mila, and Amii received another $60 million CAD in 2021 from the Government of Canada.[15]

Operations

The institute supports foundational and applied AI research,[1] and mitigates brain drain in Canada.[16] Their research priorities are:[1]

One of the goals of the institute is to support AI adoption in industries. They have helped reduce energy consumption at Telus,[17] built recommendation systems with Wahi,[18] and partnered with Kids Help Phone to build tools that help guide councillors during conversations with children.[19] They have built open source tools to monitor clinical models in production.[20]

The institute has given out $2 million CAD in masters scholarships, valued at $17,500 each.[21]

Faculty

As of 2023, Vector's research is led by Chief Scientific Advisor Geoffrey Hinton, and Research Directors Daniel Roy and Graham Taylor.[22] Other faculty include, among many others, Alán Aspuru-Guzik, Brendan Frey, Gillian Hadfield, and Sheila McIlraith.[22]

Board of Directors

As of March 31, 2023, the Vector Institute's board of directors consists of:[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Vector Research". Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "Vector Annual Report 2022-23" (PDF). Vector Institute. 2023.
  3. Kathleen Sandusky (27 April 2023). "Canada's AI leadership strengthened through new and renewed Canada CIFAR AI Chairs under the Pan-Canadian AI Strategy". Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  4. Jennifer Robinson (March 30, 2017). " "Toronto's Vector Institute officially launched". University of Toronto Press. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  5. Cade Metz (March 21, 2022). "Toronto, the Quietly Booming Tech Town". NYT. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  6. Jessica Galang (September 26, 2017). "Vector Institute names Garth Gibson as CEO". Betakit. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  7. Charles Mandel (January 4, 2023). "Vector Institute taps seasoned executive Tony Gaffney to lead AI hub for next five years". Betakit. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  8. Kate McGillivray (March 29, 2017). "Canada 'lost the lead' on artificial intelligence. Here's how Toronto will get it back". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  9. Sarah Law (March 25, 2019). "U of T gets $100M donation for innovation centre studying AI". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  10. Denny Thomas (March 28, 2017). "Canadian government, businesses back $150 million artificial intelligence institute". Reuters. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  11. Travis Kalanick (May 8, 2017). "Transforming transportation in Toronto". Uber. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  12. Darrell Etherington (March 30, 2017). "Google bets on AI in Canada with Google Brain Toronto and Vector Institute investment". Techcrunch. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  13. Jessica Galang (March 30, 2017). "Shopify, Google among 30 companies committing combined $80 million over 10 years to Vector Institute". BetaKit. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  14. "Ontario government cuts $24 million in AI research funding". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. May 21, 2019. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  15. "Government of Canada launches second phase of the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy". June 22, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  16. "Garth Gibson: Celebrating Vector's First Year in the AI Ecosystem". Vector Institute. March 29, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  17. Kathleen Sandusky (April 17, 2023). "Canada's three National AI Institutes advance AI solutions for energy and the environment". CIFAR. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  18. "Wahi Launches First AI-Powered Realtor Recommendation System in Canada". Newswire. June 22, 2023. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  19. Nicole Ireland (July 5, 2023). "Kids Help Phone seeking help from AI tech to meet demand for mental health support". Toronto Star. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  20. Norm Tollinsky (November 1, 2022). "AI centres of excellence and companies collaborate on apps". Canadian Healthcare Technology. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  21. Charlize Alcaraz (May 11, 2022). "Vector Institute awards nearly $2 million in scholarships for Ontario AI students". BetaKit. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  22. 1 2 "Vector Faculty". Retrieved December 30, 2023.
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