Imran Ahmad, PhD

For Pierre-Claude G., Data Scientist at McGill, the real challenge with AI is understanding the tradeoff between cost, adoption, and real value. What stood out to him about Dataiku is how it acts as a workflow orchestrator, bringing data prep, modeling, connectors, and deployment into one place so teams can involve business users from the start and move from MVP to production quickly. That simplicity makes it easier for AI projects to actually get adopted. Watch the full interview below to see how Pierre thinks about turning AI projects into real-world solutions. #DataPrep #AI

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Microsoft deepens its commitment to Canada — and the AI era accelerates 🇨🇦🤝🤖 Big news this week: Microsoft announced a $19B landmark investment in Canada’s AI future, expanding cloud capacity, supercomputing infrastructure, talent development, and responsible AI initiatives nationwide. 📣 Full announcement here: https://lnkd.in/gksqQ3Jt From my role working with technology partners across the Americas, this moment is bigger than infrastructure. It’s a signal that Canada is stepping firmly into the frontier of AI-enabled innovation—and that partners have a massive runway ahead to build, scale, and transform industries. Here’s what stands out through my lens: 🚀 1. This raises the ceiling for what partners can build: More capacity, more compute, more AI superclusters… this is the foundation partners need to deliver next-gen solutions, intelligent agents, industry copilots, and modern data platforms at scale. 🏢 2. Canada is becoming a global AI destination: This investment doesn’t just strengthen local capabilities—it positions Canada as a magnet for AI-driven companies, talent, and ecosystem innovation. The opportunity space for partners expands far beyond national borders. 🧩 3. The partner ecosystem becomes even more critical: As AI moves from experimentation to operations, customers are looking for trusted advisors who can guide transformation, redesign processes, and deliver measurable business outcomes. Partners are the force multiplier that will help every industry adopt responsibly and effectively. 🌐 4. This aligns perfectly with the shift toward Frontier Firms and Frontier Partners: Companies, Customers and Partners, that learn to operate with AI, deliver with AI, monetize with AI, and innovate with AI will define the next decade. Today’s announcement accelerates the timeline for every partner to take that leap. What excites me most is how this will empower organizations—large and small—to transform at a pace we’ve never seen before. And for those of us working across the ecosystem, it’s a generational chance to lead with purpose, innovation, and impact. The future isn’t just arriving. We’re building it. Together. #Microsoft #AI #Canada #PartnerEcosystem #Innovation #AITransformation #FrontierFirm #FrontierPartner #Cloud #Supercomputing #AIInnovation

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𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘂𝗱 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗮 Google Cloud’s update gives Canadian teams real choices that line up with GC requirements: a Data Boundary for Canada, a boundary for Government of Canada Protected B, plus Dedicated and fully Air Gapped options. The value is choice without losing access to modern services, including AI. For public and regulated programs, assurance and operations are the test. The Canada and Protected B boundaries tie residency to working controls: Access Approval, Access Transparency, External Key Management with Key Access Justifications, client side encryption for Workspace, and validation through Mandiant’s User Data Shield. Dedicated and air-gapped address higher bars where independent operation or full isolation is required. This is meaningful for Canadian buyers. Sovereignty is a spectrum, not a single box to tick. These patterns can be mapped to PBMM, PBHVA, and sector specific isolation needs, helping programs move from pilot to production with clearer guardrails. Amazing article by Farsad Nasseri & John Cousens : https://lnkd.in/eZmpFyEV

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Pulse Check: What will it take for Canada to strengthen its data sovereignty? Here's what #MaRSMornings attendees during Toronto Tech Week had to say. Featuring: Jake Hirsch-Allen - Senior Fellow, The Dais at Toronto Metropolitan University Salim Teja - Partner, Radical Ventures Millie Stanisic - Founder and President, MSC Consulting

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Building trust in safe and secure AI systems is the key to public AI adoption. Nicolas Papernot, a Canada CIFAR AI Chair at the Vector Institute and co-director of the Canadian AI Safety Institute Research Program at CIFAR is working on building machines that can learn important information without compromising personal user data. Learn more about what this means for AI safety and adoption in our latest Intelligent Ideas video 👇 #AISafety #CanadianAISafetyInstitute #CanadianAI University of Toronto

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Ontario Teachers'​ Pension Plan leads Grafana Labs’ $150 million tender offer. “This investment reflects the strong confidence our investors have in our vision for open, AI-powered observability,” said Raj Dutt, CEO and Co-Founder of Grafana Labs. Rick Prostko | Raj Dutt #Secondaries #SecondaryMarket #AlternativeInvestments #PrivateMarkets #Venture #VentureCapital #VC #Deals https://lnkd.in/eGP-b6NN

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AI is reshaping industries, economies and jobs, and Canada is making big bets to lead. The recent federal budget includes investments in sovereign compute capacity and homegrown AI solutions — critical steps toward digital sovereignty. But ambition alone isn’t enough. EY’s Responsible AI Pulse Survey shows businesses are moving quickly, yet risks remain. True leadership will require strong governance, innovation safeguards and workforce readiness to ensure adoption is both responsible and transformative. I recently shared my thoughts on what this means for Canada in a piece published by Techcouver. Read it here: https://lnkd.in/gc2QRwtq  Steven Maynard Janice Louise Horne Paul Palmer Ivan Milam Grant Abrams Alida Meghji Thomas Lang Safia Rahemtulla, CPA, CA, CIA, C3PRMP Jen Mossop Scott João Candeias, PMP, CMC, CPA #EYCanada #ShapeTheFutureWithConfidence #FederalBudget2025 #AI #ResponsibleAI

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Great news from the federal government of Canada about quickly ramping up an AI strategy task force and using a sprint based approach to deliver initial results quickly. I applaud this government approach because AI is moving fast and we need to have these discussions at the same pace of change. In particular two key points that stood out were: - building safe AI systems and strengthening public trust in AI - education and skills Even minimal harm from AI technology can cause reputational damage at a time when sectors like healthcare could benefit so much from AI augmented tools and approaches. We can quickly and safely roll solutions out and stay at pace with global development if safety is built into the design! https://lnkd.in/eBHbVz4p

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The energy in the room at Microsoft Azure AI Agent Open Hack in Toronto today? Unreal. Bruno Capuano and Sam Truswell just kicked things off with a powerful keynote to 120 participants, setting the stage for a full day of hands-on, challenge-based hacking with Microsoft Foundry. This isn’t just another AI demo day. We’re building real-world agents, in real-time, using tools like GitHub Copilot (Agentic Mode) without leaving VS Code. Developers here are solving practical business problems while leveling up their skills and the conversations around Copilot governance and AI workflows are 🔥. Love seeing so many curious minds come together. Devs, Microsoft engineers, and community experts, all in one space, asking real questions and building smarter. Events like these remind me how much hands-on learning accelerates real progress. 👉 If you're a developer curious about building AI agents (and staying future-ready), keep an eye on the next Open Hack. https://lnkd.in/gkDtubXH #AzureAI #GitHubCopilot #VSCode #OpenHack #AIagents

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