Amii announces $30M in funding, recruiting 20 new AI faculty positions at the University of Alberta

Amii is making a significant investment in artificial intelligence in Alberta, growing one of the country’s largest centres for fundamental AI research. Today, we're announcing $30M in funding to continue and expand our research program, including the recruitment of 20 new faculty members in AI at the University of Alberta.

These new positions will focus on interdisciplinary research, exploring how artificial intelligence can push the boundaries of research into fields including health, energy, physics and Indigenous leadership.

"With this investment, Amii looks forward to growing this model to include a focus on areas that can be transformed by breakthroughs in AI and solve the world's biggest problems: pandemics, food insecurity, climate change, and healthcare," says Cam Linke, Amii CEO.

"Our collaboration with U of A continues our ambition in research, and Amii is positioned to translate this research into industry for maximum impact."

The faculty recruitment will include a global talent search, bringing the next generation of machine learning scientists to Alberta and will create one of the country's largest hubs for fundamental research into AI. With co-appointments as Amii fellows, these researchers will be eligible for appointment as Canada CIFAR AI Chairs through the Pan-Canadian AI Strategy at CIFAR, which recruits and retains world-leading AI researchers in Canada.

Our decision to centre the chairs in Edmonton further strengthens the relationship between Amii and the University of Alberta. For the past two decades, both institutions have collaborated on advancing the development of machine learning and building a robust AI community in the province.

These 20 faculty positions leverage the university's existing strengths in many fields. The interdisciplinary nature of these positions highlights the vast potential that artificial intelligence has to benefit many areas of life. It also helps further Amii's goal of AI "for good and for all."

"Today's historic $30M investment, building on the ongoing growth of talent through the Pan-Canadian AI Strategy at CIFAR, will help ensure that Amii and the entire AI ecosystem continues its exponential trajectory. This is not just an investment of money; it is an investment in the betterment of Albertans, Canadians and people around the world," said University of Alberta president Bill Flanagan.

"We are now launching a worldwide search for an additional 20 faculty members to advance AI research at the University of Alberta. That is nothing short of extraordinary."

The funding is made possible with support from CIFAR and the Government of Alberta as part of the Pan-Canadian AI Strategy, which aims to make the country a hub of AI development and commercialization. In addition to the 20 new faculty members, it will also support the Canada CIFAR AI Chairs established by $15M in earlier funding that Amii made in the university during the first phase of the Pan-Canadian AI Strategy.

Some of the planned research chairs include:

• Predictive Analytics and Natural Language Processing
• Health Imaging
• Pharmacogenomics and Drug Discovery
• AI In Macromolecular Structure Prediction and Drug Design
• Biophysical ML
• AI and Biological Cognition
• ML in Theoretical and Computational Chemistry
• Chemical and Sustainable Materials Engineering
• AI In Space
• AI In Land Use Science
• Remote Sensing
• Automation and Robotics
• AI in Quantum
• Indigenous Epidemiology and AI
• AI and Indigeneity