LG to open AI research centre and partners with academia

The company is launching the new LG Electronics AI Research Lab in Canada, an extension of the newly expanded LG Silicon Valley AI Lab in Santa Clara, California. Supporting LG’s vision of AI as a key future growth engine, the North American labs further enhance LG’s global research capabilities, which include AI labs in South Korea, India and Russia, a press release reads. In addition, LG is entering into a new research partnership with the University of Toronto, which is recognised for its AI and machine learning expertise, particularly in the area of deep learning. “AI will ultimately touch everybody’s lives, transforming the way we live, work and play,” said LG Electronics President and Chief Technology Officer Dr. I.P. Park. “Early implementations of AI in connected devices today are setting the stage for tomorrow’s smart cities, smart homes, smart businesses and smart devices, all with capabilities that no one has even dreamed of yet.” He said the North American labs and LG’s research partnership with the University of Toronto will play a key role in developing source technologies defining that future. Under its five-year, multi-million-dollar research partnership with the University of Toronto, LG will build on its Open Platform-Open Partnership-Open Connectivity strategy to expand the AI ecosystem. The new lab will capitalise on the expertise of researchers at the University of Toronto who will now have the opportunity to work collaboratively with LG’s growing U.S. and Canadian AI R&D teams. Complementing this work, LG intends to collaborate with and invest in North American start-ups. University of Toronto President Meric Gertler views LG as an exciting new partner for AI research. “The University of Toronto looks forward to partnering with an innovative global company like LG as our researchers continue to advance the boundaries of artifi-cial intelligence. The presence of such leading, multi-national firms in our innovation ecosystem strengthens opportunities for our faculty, students and start-up companies across a whole range of disciplines.”