Royal Bank Invests in Machine Learning Through University Partnerships

October 20, 2016

RBC this week announced two initiatives in collaboration with the University of Toronto. The initiatives are designed to maintain Canada as a leading center of development in machine learning and artificial intelligence.

RBC Research in Machine Learning will be a state-of-the-art research practice working to push the boundaries of the science around machine learning. RBC is also partnering with the Creative Destruction Lab at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, becoming a Founding Partner of the Lab’s Machine Learning Initiative focused on artificial intelligence-enabled companies.

“RBC Research in Machine Learning is part of our commitment to the advancement of machine learning and artificial intelligence in Canada,” says Gabriel Woo, vice-president of innovation at RBC. “We are not only building our own capabilities, we’re also big believers in creating jobs in this space to retain the amazing talent we have in Canada. We’re working with leading universities across Canada like the University of Toronto to partner with the best, brightest and boldest minds in the country.”

RBC Research in Machine Learning will be housed at the Banting Institute at the University of Toronto, and will be headed up by inventor and entrepreneur Dr. Foteini Agrafioti, who is the cofounder of Nymi, a first wearable device that authenticates users using the biometric technology HeartID.

“This has really never been done before in Canada,” says Dr. Agrafioti, who was named “Inventor of the Year” in 2012 by the University of Toronto for inventing HeartID. “We’ve lost so much talent in this country to other companies and institutions, but RBC has both the scale and commitment to ensure Canada remains a centre of excellence in machine learning.”

The RBC Research in Machine Learning team will collaborate with academics from the University of Toronto and other institutions, publishing new research in the fields of machine learning and artificial intelligence.

RBC also extends its close collaboration with the University of Toronto through a new partnership with the Creative Destruction Lab, a seed-stage program for massively scalable, science-based companies. The Lab employs an objectives-based mentoring process led by highly accomplished entrepreneurs and angel investors with the goal of maximizing the equity value creation of its ventures. As part of the agreement, RBC is contributing to the Creative Destructions Lab’s programming fund and will assume a role on the Lab’s Advisory board.

“We’re thrilled to partner with RBC on this initiative,” says Rachel Harris, director of The Creative Destruction Lab. “With their support we are able to scale our program. We are now home to 50 AI companies. To our knowledge, this is the greatest concentration of AI companies in any program on Earth.”

“RBC is part of a thriving ecosystem of entrepreneurs, innovators, engineers and market visionaries,” says Gabriel Woo. “We share a strong commitment to the study and advancement of artificial intelligence with the University of Toronto, one of the world’s leading institutions in this space. Our partnership with the university and the Creative Destruction Lab is an extension of our ongoing support of the Canadian digital ecosystem.”