Nuance Forms Research Partnership with Academic AI Institute Mila

Nuance Communications is teaming up with Mila, an academic Artificial Intelligence institute based in Quebec. Mila was founded by 2018 Turing Prize winner Yoshua Bengio, and focuses on machine learning with an emphasis on language.

Nuance, meanwhile, is a conversational AI specialist, and has developed voice-based solutions for industries ranging from healthcare to finance to automotive. Together, the two organizations will publish research and exchange knowledge in an effort to improve modern AI technology.

“This partnership allows us to work more closely with the global academic AI research community to advance the latest in AI innovation and applications,” said Nuance CTO Joe Petro.

“The future of AI is being shaped by researchers and technologists,” added Bengio. “Creating an AI ecosystem ensures that we are all working together to create AI that has positive effects on real-world applications.”

Nuance will operate an AI lab at Mila’s headquarters in Montreal, collaborating with Mila’s interns as part of the process. The lab will serve as an extension of Nuance’s existing Montreal office, which currently employs upwards of 600 people.

The news comes shortly after Nuance Communications disclosed plans to spin off Nuance Automotive as a separate, independently traded company. The automotive segment has grabbed a large portion of the company’s headlines in recent months after forming agreements with companies like Geely and BMW.