LG Electronics Inc. has announced that Toronto will be home to its newest artificial intelligence (AI) research lab.
The company announced the move in a Wednesday press release, as well as a five year, multimillion dollar partnership with the University of Toronto.
“The new lab will capitalize on the expertise of the researchers at the University of Toronto who will now have the opportunity to work collaboratively with LG’s growing U.S. and Canadian AI research and development teams,” the release stated.
“The University of Toronto looks forward to partnering with an innovative global company like LG. The presence of such leading, multinational firms in our innovation ecosystem strengthens opportunities for our faculty and students,” University of Toronto’s president Meric Gertler said in the release.
The LG Electronics AI Research Lab in Toronto will be an extension of LG’s Santa Clara, California lab as as way for the South Korean electronics company to grow its AI influence in North America.
In the release, LG president and chief technology officer Dr. I.P. Park said the North American labs, as well as the University of Toronto partnership, will play a key role in the company’s efforts to develop technologies that will define the future.
“AI will ultimately touch everybody’s lives, transforming the way we live, work and play,” he said, “Early implementations of AI in connected devices today are setting the stage for tomorrow’s smart cities, smart homes, smart businesses and smart devices, all with capabilities that no one has even dreamed of yet.”
As ITBusiness.ca has previously reported, LG has been working to introduce its AI technology ThinQ into a number of its products and technologies.
LG, which also has labs in South Korea, India and Russia, said that this partnership with the university is an expansion of its open platform, open partnership, open connectivity strategy.
In addition to the lab and university partnership, LG also announced that it also plans to invest in and collaborate with North American startups.