TORONTO – The co-founders of two of Canada’s top artificial intelligence firms say companies in the country are buzzing with excitement around the technology but turning that enthusiasm into products and tools takes too long.
Cohere co-founder Nick Frosst says he has grown used to being approached by Canadian firms wanting to work with AI but they’re slow to actually implement the technology.
Frosst says it is hard to pinpoint where that lack of urgency comes from but he thinks part of it is embedded in Canada’s culture.
Nicole Janssen, the co-founder of AltaML, has had a similar experience.
She says it takes 18 months for companies reaching out to her business to commit to using AI and then another 18 months to start doing something with it.
She says the danger in this long lead time is that people get tired of devoting energy and resources to projects that are not immediately giving them a return on their investment and then this work falls to the wayside.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 26, 2024.
