In an announcement at the Amii office in downtown Edmonton today, the Government of Alberta affirmed its support for artificial intelligence and machine learning. The show of support builds off of funding announcements earlier this year, with a total of $9 million in funding for Amii: $4 million from Alberta Innovates and $5 million through the Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) system.

All speakers present at the September 18, 2020 announcement at the Amii office

Minister of Jobs, Economy and Innovation Doug Schweitzer shared the podium with Minister of Service Alberta Nate Glubish, Alberta Innovates CEO Laura Kilcrease and Amii CEO Cam Linke, in a discussion on how this funding will help develop Alberta’s technology sector and bolster investment and innovation in other industries.

Watch the entire announcement here:

With this funding, Amii is committed to helping Alberta companies increase their AI and ML capabilities to gain competitive advantages within their industries -- in the case of TIER, specifically within the energy and agriculture sectors regarding emissions reduction.

Learn how leaders from the Innovation sectors are reacting to this announcement in the Government of Alberta media release, including:

“Alberta is already a world leader in artificial intelligence and machine learning, which creates a strong foundation for our province moving forward. Rest assured your government is here to make sure that Alberta attracts high-growth technology and innovation companies that will diversify our economy and create jobs for today and for the future.”

Doug Schweitzer, Minister of Jobs, Economy and Innovation

“Amii exists in large part thanks to crucial investments made by the Government of Alberta, CIFAR and Alberta Innovates – and our partnership with the University of Alberta. With renewed funding, we’re able to continue our trajectory of long-established excellence in AI and machine learning and leverage scientific advancement to speed industry adoption, job creation and innovation for Alberta’s most forward-thinking organizations.”

Cam Linke, CEO, Amii

“A century ago, Albertans could never have imagined how innovations like oil sands SAGD technology would yield billions of dollars of economic wealth to the province. The government’s support of technology – including artificial intelligence – has that same potential to bring new jobs, businesses and wealth to Alberta in today’s $16 trillion global artificial intelligence market.”

Laura Kilcrease, CEO, Alberta Innovates

Read Amii CEO Cam Linke’s address from today's announcement.