MONTREAL — Enterprise software provider VMware announced today the opening of the VMware Next G-AI Research and Innovation Centre in Montreal.
“The Centre will bring together VMware’s multi-cloud infrastructure, advanced networking, and Modern Application Development expertise with the latest in emerging Cloud Native development techniques, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) technologies to deliver a sustainable path to 5G+ and 6G technologies,” reads a press release.
“Montreal has one of the most significant clusters of AI researchers in the world, as well as a thriving community of innovative startups,” said Kit Colbert, VMware’s chief technology officer, in the release. “Through partnerships with researchers, startups and industry partners, we will be able to bring together cloud, networking and AI to build 6G technologies that are sustainable and centered on human needs.”
The Next G-AI Research and Innovation Centre, which is part of the TETRA initiative VMware announced in partnership with Mitacs in November 2021, is located within Centech and ÉTS in Montreal.
The centre is supporting three connected programs:
- Applied Research: In partnership with Mitacs, VMware is working with researchers across Canada “to develop sustainable 5G+ and 6G technologies, improve digital equity and rearchitect the Internet to an Open Grid,” the release says.
- Next G-AI Research and Innovation Lab: This lab “provides researchers and industry partners with access to cutting-edge software and hardware that allows them to quickly validate and demonstrate key concepts.”
- Modern Application Software Factory:“The VMware Tanzu Modern Software Factory provides VMware customers and partners with access to VMware Tanzu solutions and open-source technologies. The offering will comprise, Spring and .Net development expertise and tools, developer accelerators, automated container build service, support for any Kubernetes conformant run time along with the ability to build, run and manage software supply chains that deliver on the 5S promise of (speed, stability, savings, security, scalability).”
In addition, through partnerships with Mitacs, Centech and the IEEE, VMware will provide selected researchers and startups with access to both the Next G-AI Innovation Lab and the Modern Application Software Factory.
“The Next G-AI Research and Innovation Centre will enable local, national and international research collaboration, and contribute significantly to the Montreal innovation ecosystem,” said John Hepburn, CEO of Mitacs, in the release. “We are proud to support this critical research to develop 6G technologies, with a focus on ensuring that they are sustainable, equitable and will benefit Canadians across the country.”
François-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s minister of innovation, science and industry, welcomed the opening of the VMware Next G-AI Research and Innovation Centre, according to the release.
“Canada is a global leader in great talent, especially in emerging areas of technology like artificial intelligence and machine learning,” Champagne said in a statement. “This investment will further strengthen our ability to tackle some of the most important challenges facing our society, including the resilience of our communications network, and ultimately support Canadians across the country.”
VMware, Mitacs and the IEEE Future Networks Initiative also announced the first Canadian-specific prize category in the Connecting the Unconnected Challenge, “which seeks novel solutions for universal and affordable internet access,” the release explains.
The new prize category will be included as part of the 2023 challenge, which kicks off next spring.
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