Chip complexity is growing beyond the capabilities of human intelligence alone.This is why semiconductor evolution requires electronic design automation (EDA) with AI. Mila, the Montréal Institute for Learning Algorithms, is working closely with industry to develop these IC EDA as it believes breakthroughs will require both AI and domain expertise.Reinforcement learning can help explore solution spaces when tool parameters and processes can be optimized by analyzing past component failures via Deep Learning. Other use cases include modeling physics environments to reduce compute overhead through Foundation Models, AI-guided Inverse Design to accelerate the discovery of new precursor materials, chip energy efficiency improved with Distributed Learning, and Computer Vision for rapid wafer quality inspection.Mila, the world's largest academic research center in deep learning, is at the forefront of developing these methods. Founded by Professor Yoshua Bengio of the Université de Montreal in Québec, the research institute in artificial intelligence brings together over 1,200 specialized researchers in machine learning. It is globally recognized for its significant contributions, especially in the fields of language modeling, automatic translation, object recognition, and generative models.Québec's great AI hub is made up of +18,000 university students in programs related to AI and data analytics. The province is home to the headquarters of Scale AI, the AI supercluster dedicated to Canada's supply chain. This prominent AI ecosystem feeds from surrounding strategic industries and vice versa. This includes life sciences, quantum sciences, optic-photonics, and of course microelectronics among others.Québec is an immense collaborative space with intense synergy. All levels of government with industry and academia collaborate very tightly for opportunities to foster. Technum is Québec's innovation zone for microelectronics in Bromont. It is home to some of the largest companies – ABB, IBM, Teledyne – as well as innovation collaborative centers such as C2Mi and CMC, providing access to state-of-the-art technology for making micro-nanotechnologies, and for training industry-ready graduates.On the AI side, Mila plays a central role in the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy–the first national AI strategy in the world– for which a 2-billion-dollar investment was announced in the April 2024 federal budget. Thanks to applied research and its large talent pool, Mila is a real catalyst for development for industry partners at home and abroad. Just in 2023 and in collaboration with Intel, they published 12 material discovery papers on automating AI-driven discovery of novel materials, applying causal machine learning for climate science, and accelerating the study of molecular drivers of diseases and drug discovery.AI's already crucial integration with semiconductor manufacturing will grow in every step of the supply chain as shrinking components introduce novel challenges. The length of time from design to manufacture will shrink as AI produces faster designs, fewer manufacturing errors, and quicker recalibrations.Radical innovations will emerge as a result of growing compute demand, a faster pace of chip design, and new AI-driven material discoveries. This innovation can already be seen in Québec, in which semiconductor and AI ecosystems expand and synchronize.The Mila is cultivating the next generation of Canadian compute by focusing on three areas relevant to the semiconductor revolution: AI for material discovery through experimental new architecture, tighter co-development between fundamental research and industry for AI-specific chips and firmware optimization and finally, integration of AI in IC EDA. The technological advancements meet the specifics of the latest generation chips and semiconductors.Invest Québec, the financial arm and economic development agency for the Québec government collaborates closely with foreign companies to kickstart their expansion in the American Northeast corridor where a fully integrated value chain for semiconductors is building itself from the ground up.To learn more about what Québec's ecosystem can bring to your business contact Rachel Yin at https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-yin/, Info@Invest-Quebec.com

In the rapidly changing business world, data-driven strategies have become crucial to how companies can increase revenue. Digital marketing tools that play an instrumental role in data-driven strategies are also rapidly evolving.AccuHit, committed to MarTech solutions, offers three MarTech platforms including AccuNIX, AccuCDP, and Accu3DM. It has recently introduced AccuFLOW.ai, developed on the foundation of its AI strength. According to AccuHit's associate technical director Bing-Jin Lin, featuring no-code AI, AccuFLOW.ai provides tools that enable companies to build their own generative AI platforms for a diversity of use scenarios with no need for specific expertise. Developing AI-enabled MarTech innovations, AccuHit provides three major platformsAccording to Lin, AI is making giant strides and the launch of ChatGPT at year-end 2022 has spurred a wave of generative AI developments. This has profoundly impacted MarTech.The business world is now paying attention to how to incorporate generative AI into their marketing strategies to thereby make their marketing channels and models more intelligent and boost overall productivity and performance. Moreover, businesses have been making efforts to slash the costs of developing applications in recent years. This has also been driving them to increasingly adopt AI.AccuHit has developed three core products to meet MarTech's demand. AccuCDP is a multi-channel customer data platform that collects and consolidates data from various sources. It processes both structured and non-structured data and thereby tracks each user's interactions across different channels to provide companies with complete insights into the traces of users' activities, therefore enabling companies to create highly personalized user experiences.Accu3DM is a data-driven decision engine combining a URL-shortening tool and AI-based analysis. Not only does Accu3DM quickly generate and manage short URLs, but it also uses short URLs for in-depth analysis of user behavior. Its target URL management model integrates multiple short URL data generated by a batch of target web pages to provide companies with a global view of marketing effect analysis.AccuNIX is an all-encompassing conversational commerce platform featuring chatbot support on multiple social media networks and seamless integration with CRM systems to boost management efficiency. It also provides a wealth of marketing tools that effectively increase user engagement and brand stickiness. Companies can also use their data analysis capability and labeling system to precisely divide customers into target groups and create highly personalized marketing campaigns.AccuHit's latest AI solution AccuFLOW.ai. Credit: AccuHitLeveraging generative AI to raise MarTech application performanceIn early 2023, AccuHit formed a dedicated AI team that developed AccuFLOW.ai, following its three core MarTech platforms. Lin pointed out that AccuFLOW.ai focuses on generative AI applications and works with AccuNIX and AccuCDP to bring greater benefits. It empowers AccuNIX for marketing through social media networks. AccuCDP collects and analyzes user data from various channels and conducts user profiling. AccuFLOW.ai then uses the user profile data from AccuCDP to generate customized marketing content.AccuFLOW.ai supports a diversity of corporate use scenarios. For example, customer service departments can use AccuFLOW.ai to build an AI chatbot that responds to product inquiries and redirects customers to human agents when appropriate. It can also help backend support agents quickly find answers to customers' questions. AccuHit's platforms together form an end-to-end smart system that enables companies to collect and analyze data, perform precision marketing, and provide smart customer service. With AccuHit's platforms, companies can increase their marketing effectiveness and raise customer satisfaction. AccuHit's AccuFLOW.ai is being used in a wide range of applications. For example, a leading automaker uses AccuFLOW.ai for employee training, automobile sales, and maintenance services to optimize its internal processes. There are also companies in the finance and insurance sector as well as cosmetics retailers that use AccuFLOW.ai to process data traffic and use AI chatbots for customer service and product sales.AccuHit expands overseas at a steady pace, said Lin. By joining forces with customers and partners abroad, AccuHit has made contact with companies in Indonesia, Singapore, and Japan to gradually introduce its products to foreign markets.Since its establishment in 2018, AccuHit has been enjoying rapid growth in both the applications of its products and the revenue it generates. The growth is a result of the fact that AccuHit's products and their quality meet companies' marketing needs. More importantly, Taiwan's startup environment and TTA's support also play a critical role.Lin noted that the government ramping up subsidies and knowledge-sharing programs has greatly benefited startup teams. Furthermore, TTA offering workshops and venue spaces also helped AccuHit strengthen its operation and management skills and increase its product visibility. Lin therefore hopes the government will extend and expand its policies to provide even more powerful support for Taiwan-based startups.Going forward, although AI will be the center of market attention, following cutting-edge technologies will not be AccuHit's only focus. Lin emphasized that AccuHit develops products to solve real-world problems. It endeavors to help companies raise operation efficiency and competitiveness in the digital era using the most suitable solutions.

World leaders in wafer and microelectronic subsystem assembly have chosen Québec for its strong government support and industry knowledge through the whole value chain particularly in advanced packaging assembly and Microelectronic subsystem assembly. Examples of microelectronics companies located in Québec include IBM, ABB, and Teledyne DALSA.Smart electronic systems is a booming sector in Québec. Over 86% of companies export their production benefiting from Canada's 15 free trade agreements. The industry is highly integrated in regional synergies with several other key sectors including aerospace, with Québec's six prime contractors and nearly 15 world-class OEM integrators, but also automobile for which this part of the Americas is famous.These synergies have prompted the birth of an innovation zone in the city of Bromont strategically located in the North-East Corridor. Québec sits within America's semiconductor material industry, boosted by the CHIPS Act. 60+ new semiconductor ecosystem projects were announced across the US, including 23 new chip fabs and the expansions of 9 fabs mainly in the state of New York. The Québec-U.S. cross-border North-East corridor thus hosts an integrated semiconductors supply chain with facilities involved in chip design, manufacturing, and R&D.In Canada, Bromont has the highest concentration of jobs in microelectronics and clean rooms. The presence of world leaders, such as IBM, Teledyne DALSA, Fabritec, and GE Aviation, is a testament to the region's traction in the sector. IBM's plant in Bromont is "the largest semiconductor packaging and testing facility in North America." The companies also benefit from green energy from the hydroelectric powerhouse.The zone is reinforced by the presence of organizations reflective of the collaborative mindset. Technum Québec implements tools and processes to increase innovations, commercialization, exports, and collaborations to stimulate technology transfers between economic players in the zone.C2MI MiQro Innovation Collaborative Centre, on the other hand, is the largest electronic systems R&D center in Canada. It represents an essential link between applied research and commercialization specializing in MEMS manufacturing, advanced semiconductor assembly, compound semiconductors and electronic systems, and printable electronics. Finally, CMC Microsystem, a not-for-profit organization, provides access to the world's best design tools, manufacturing technologies, and engineering support for making micro-nanotechnologies, and for training industry-ready graduates.Québec's rising positioning is a true reflection of industry partnership with governments. Generous public incentive programs have been implemented to propel the strategic sector among others. At the federal level, the FABrIC initiative has focused on highlighting the niche technologies already present in Canada to grow from competitive advantages. These technologies include silicon photonics, mechanical systems (MEMS), compound semiconductors, and superconducting quantum devices.More synergies take place horizontally across industries. Montreal is home to the world's largest research center in deep learning: the Mila. AI's already crucial integration with semiconductor manufacturing will grow in every step of the supply chain as shrinking components introduce novel challenges. This is why Mila has been collaborating with companies toward AI-infused electronic design automation (EDA).Invest Québec, the financial arm and economic development agency of the Québec government has been playing a major role in the promotion of strategic collaboration. The organization has over 1,300 employees working out of 17 offices across Québec and 12 more around the world. Their teams have been working very closely with foreign companies from Asia and other parts of the world, in setting up their projects in Québec while connecting them with the right local actors both in AI and microelectronics.To learn more about what Québec's ecosystem can bring to your business contact Rachel Yin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-yin/). Info@Invest-Quebec.com