Upper Bound hears tips on AI investment

The door is open for artificial-intelligence investment — you just need to know the right way to walk in, experts said during Upper Bound, which filled the Edmonton Convention Centre with researchers, entrepreneurs, investors, and interested observers from May 19 to 22. "Investors love to invest in lines, not dots," said Cam Linke, CEO of the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute, which put on the sold-out conference. "Investors want to see proof-point of momentum, and that might be momentum in an area of research that you're the best in the world at, and you're driving forward … it might be momentum with a customer whose problem you're solving."

Linke made the point shortly after a reverse-pitch by investors from Sprout Fund, Yaletown Partners, Flying Fish Ventures, SOSV HAX, Graphite Ventures, and Panache Ventures on why they need prospects as much as entrepreneurs need investment. "You want to understand the VC a little bit, but I think you also want to understand how these conversations go," Pat Lor of Panache told Taproot. "Understand that you're going to be asked about go-to-market, understand that you're going to be asked about founder-market fit and product-market fit. Understanding those terms, understanding that you're going to be thrown those questions, and understanding how to provide a quick 60-second answer to those is really important."

On the government funding side of things, announcements at Upper Bound included $6.8 million for AI innovation and commercialization, including $3 million for the University of Alberta's Canadian AI Compute Vault and support for Darkhorse Emergency, NTWIST, and Vertical City. The federal government pledged $24 million for 42 Canada CIFAR AI chairs, most of them based in Edmonton. Alberta announced a $10-million partnership with Amii to launch a Health Innovation Lab; Amii also launched AI Literacy for Everyone, a collaboration with the University of Alberta. Mayor Andrew Knack said Edmonton's AI ecosystem is helping the city build a global reputation for innovation, citing Upper Bound's 11,000 attendees and the economic boost from related events.