Four decades later, that foundational work has reshaped how modern artificial intelligence operates while transforming Canada’s largest metropolis into a powerhouse tech capital, CNN reported. In the 1980s, Nobel Prize-winning computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton took an unconventional gamble, leaving a well-funded post at Carnegie Mellon University to pursue an obscure, little-studied corner of machine learning at the University of Toronto.
Toronto now reportedly boasts the world’s third best tech talent market, ahead of New York City but behind San Francisco and Seattle, according to an annual analysis by commercial real estate firm CBRE. This is also said to be thanks to educational institutions like the University of Toronto, and public-private research institutes like the Vector Institute, which Hinton co-founded.
Gennady Pekhimenko, who sold his startup CentML to Nvidia last year and now serves as senior director of AI software for the chip giant, said Toronto’s international food scene serves as a useful recruiting tool for out-of-town talent. He shared how one of Pekhimenko’s first hires at CentML was an Amazon engineer who was unable to renew his H1-B visa to stay in the United States. He could, however, get a Canadian work permit.One of Pekhimenko’s first hires at CentML was an Amazon engineer who was unable to renew his H1-B visa to stay in the United States. He could, however, get a Canadian work permit.
Giants like Google, Nvidia, Meta, and Microsoft now operate research outposts near the University of Toronto, flanked by startups and cross-sector players like pharmaceutical titan Sanofi, which committed nearly $300 million to a local AI center.
The surge has propelled Toronto to the third-ranked tech talent market globally according to CBRE, trailing only San Francisco and Seattle. Industry heavyweights have taken note.