Toronto has become one of the world’s fastest growing technology hubs, ranked high on a list of innovators in a recent report by KPMG. Much of its growth can be attributed to advancements in disruptive technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. Here’s how Toronto has become a global center for innovators aimed at truly creating change:
Pioneering Incubators Encourage Companies to Come, Build and Succeed
Nearly three years ago I left my job to fully commit to the creation and success of Diligen, an AI company we created to change the way lawyers work. Our acceptance into Ryerson University’s Legal Innovation Zone (LIZ), the first incubator dedicated solely to legal tech, provided us with tremendous support, guidance and the comradery of other startups during our formative early days. LIZ is part of the DMZ, which is ranked the #1 university-based business incubator in the world and a thriving hub for high growth Canadian tech startups. Not long after we joined LIZ another legal tech incubator, LegalX out of the MaRS Discovery District, popped up just minutes away in downtown Toronto. Toronto now had not one, but two incubators dedicated to legal tech within walking distance – a critical mass which helped catapult the city onto the world stage as a legal tech leader. At the same time, the University of Toronto’s Creative Destruction Lab was getting off the ground, becoming a transformative bootcamp for startups focused on emerging technologies like machine learning, blockchain, quantum computing and space tech. Companies, like Diligen, selected to be part of its highly competitive program, have the benefit of meeting with high caliber investors from around the world who fly into Toronto to meet with startups every two months. The game-changing support provided by these incubators provides a powerful draw to new and emerging startups looking for a home city.
The Canadian Government Supports Innovation
Canada is a country dedicated to the support of research and development, making it an attractive and affordable place to launch tech ventures. Programs like the Scientific Research and Experimental Development Tax Incentive Program (SR&ED – pronounced ‘shred’) offers companies refundable investment tax credits for doing the important but resource-intensive work of developing new technologies – providing a measurable financial break to those pursuing innovation in Canada. The government shows dedicated commitment to pioneers in AI and machine learning, as seen in last year’s announcement of the $125 million Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy to fund research and attract talent, and in its generous support of Toronto’s Vector Institute, a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to research in AI, machine and deep learning.
Top Talent is at Our Doorstep
Toronto—now the fourth largest city in North America and the second most diverse (more than half of its population is foreign born)—offers a robust talent pool. The Toronto-Waterloo Corridor is one of the top 20 technology clusters in the world and home to world leading academics in AI, including University of Toronto professor Geoffrey Hinton, known as the Godfather of AI. Universities dedicated to computer science and engineering—notably the University of Toronto and the University of Waterloo—provide Toronto AI entrepreneurs access to top STEM talent, both seasoned tech workers and new graduates. These days neither group feels they need to head to Silicon Valley to land career-making positions. Favorable immigration policies for skilled workers—and a now less immigrant friendly environment in the neighboring U.S.—along with burgeoning job opportunities in Toronto, further attract highly skilled tech talent. Diligen has reaped the benefit of Toronto’s diversity of talent, boasting hires from four continents.
Forward Thinking Adopters Embrace Technology
Toronto’s universities and incubators prepare grads for a new workplace, even creating programs like Ryerson University’s proposed new law school which will feature a modern curriculum for lawyers that focuses on entrepreneurialism and technology. AI markets, such as legal tech, have evolved with the technologies and Toronto’s legal field has embraced legal tech startups like Diligen, finding that there are areas of the law where work can be done faster, better and more efficiently when machines and humans work together. It takes both innovators and ready adopters to create an ecosystem that works. Toronto delivers both.
Toronto has undoubtedly earned its reputation as a formidable host to technology innovation. It has created a community of like-minded entrepreneurs, connecting them to the support and resources they need to develop and deliver technologies that can truly change the way the world works. Thanks to the support of its incubators, federal and local government, university system and receptive adopters, Toronto is well poised to continue to attract big ideas and the prized talent that will help them become realities.
Laura van Wyngaarden is an entrepreneur and expert in artificial intelligence and legal technology. She’s the COO of Diligen, a leading artificial intelligence (AI) company transforming the way lawyers review contracts and a pioneer in the LegalTech space. Laura is passionate about the connection between technology and human work, seeking to identify and explore innovative ways to reduce time and improve the accuracy of human tasks.