Mila, the world's largest academic AI research center, announced Tuesday a partnership with Inovia Capital to launch the Venture Scientist Fund, a 100 million dollar early-stage venture fund designed to transform frontier AI research from Canadian universities into commercial companies. The initiative directly addresses a persistent commercialization gap where Canada contributes roughly 10 percent of the world's top AI research talent but captures less than 2 percent of global AI venture capital investment.
The fund targets 55-plus AI-native companies emerging from Canada's research ecosystem, including the University of Alberta, University of British Columbia, McGill University, Université de Montréal, University of Toronto, and the University of Waterloo. Unlike traditional venture vehicles, the fund integrates directly with Canada's three National AI Institutes—Mila in Montreal, the Vector Institute in Toronto, and the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute in Edmonton—enabling engagement at the earliest stages of company formation, often before a startup formally exists. The fund focuses on domains where scientific depth creates competitive advantage, including foundational AI models, deep tech applications, and next-generation computational and physical infrastructure.
Stéphane Marceau, Mila's managing director of AI ventures, will manage the fund with assistance from entrepreneur-in-residence Alex Shee, former Pender Ventures partner Isaac Souweine, and former Circle K Ventures managing partner Jonathan Shaanan. Marc Ghobriel, executive director of capital and strategic partnerships at Inovia, leads structuring the initiative from Inovia's side. The fund began formal fundraising Tuesday with Mila CEO Valérie Pisano telling reporters she expects to reach the target amount "fairly quickly" given high interest within the Canadian ecosystem.
Inovia will participate as a limited partner through its Discovery Program for first-time fund managers, with remaining capital expected from institutional investors, family offices, and corporate Canada. Chris Arsenault, co-founder and CEO at Inovia Capital, said the deal flow will provide investment and follow-on opportunities for Inovia's other funds, which operate from seed through growth stages. Inovia manages over 2.5 billion dollars across operations in Montreal, Toronto, Waterloo, Calgary, the Bay Area, London, and Abu Dhabi.
The initiative responds directly to federal priorities outlined by Prime Minister Mark Carney and AI Minister Evan Solomon, who attended Tuesday's announcement at Mila headquarters. Solomon characterized the fund as a "concierge service" arming researchers considering commercial ventures with capital and support to transform ideas into startups. He emphasized the urgency with a blunt assessment of Canada's historical pattern: "We plant the seed, we water, we grow, and someone else harvests? It's not going to happen anymore."
The commercialization challenge stems from intense US competition for Canadian AI talent. Marceau, who joined Mila last year to lead its ventures arm, described the typical pattern: "They publish a paper, they go to the U.S., and they come back with a big cheque. We need to get very active at the ground level and be in the conversation." A 2024 study by venture capital firm Leaders Fund found just 32.4 percent of Canadian-led high-potential startups launched that year remained headquartered in Canada, underscoring the talent retention crisis.
Mila holds unique positioning for commercialization efforts. Founded by Turing Award winner Yoshua Bengio, the institute houses over 1,500 members and represents a partnership between Université de Montréal and McGill University. The organization receives strong support from the Government of Canada through the Pan-Canadian AI Strategy and from the Government of Quebec. Recent surveys found nearly 95 percent of the wider Mila community expressed interest in entrepreneurship, contradicting assumptions that researchers prioritize only academic work.
Previous Mila spinouts demonstrate both the institute's commercial potential and the challenges of retaining value in Canada. Bengio co-founded Element AI, acquired by California-based ServiceNow in 2020. Drug discovery startup Valence was purchased by Utah-based Recursion Pharmaceuticals in 2023. More recently, AI-powered citizen engagement platform Polaire and automation company Rise Robotics emerged from Mila, though details on their headquarters locations and funding sources remain mixed. The Venture Scientist Fund aims to reverse this pattern by providing structured capital and support before researchers consider US opportunities.
The federal government does not directly invest in the new fund, though it provides funding to Mila, Vector, and Amii through the Pan-Canadian AI Strategy. Solomon indicated his office aims to release Canada's comprehensive national AI strategy this quarter, with more effective commercialization of homegrown research ranking as a top priority. The strategy's release timing will depend on coordination with the Prime Minister's office.
