A program to develop the future champions of
artificial intelligence
Objective_
AI@Centech is a six-month international accelerator program for growth stage AI-enabled startups. Run by Thales in cooperation with Centech, it aims to accelerate startups by providing them with advice, expertise and access to Thales’ technological platforms, allowing them to co-build cutting-edge solutions for the Group's markets whilst supporting the emergence of the next worldwide Artificial Intelligence (AI) champions.
Key Features_
BUSINESS
Access to
Thales' markets
A business coach guides each accelerated startup to give them access to Thales’ markets and customers upon definition of well-adapted use cases.
Together, we develop innovative Proofs of Concept to demonstrate the value that Thales and startup can create.
TECHNICAL
Access to AI
expertise
In addition to its business coach, one artificial intelligence coach is appointed per startup to help them enhance their products.
With dedicated workshops, meetings or Design Thinking sessions, we help startups improve their offers by giving them access to required and relevant expertise.
FUNDRAISING
Support to
fundraising
We support startups to successfully prepare their fundraising. We introduce them to external VCs and potentially, if common interest, to Thales Corporate Venture.
To raise accelerated startups at the top, we also help you with coaching to prepare your presentation and pitch to VCs.
SHOWCASING
Visibility
Boost
Participation in Thales’s booth in exhibitions, as well as Thales’ internal events and media exposure.
Through Thales global network, we highlight startups to put them on stage and make them meet the right people for their needs and objectives.
Timeline_
AI Ecosystem collaboration_
The purpose of the program is to collaborate in an open-innovation mode on real business challenges and develop high-value opportunities. Founded on the strength of its offer, partnerships and location, AI@Centech acts as a major actor in one of North America's most important AI and entrepreneurship ecosystems, located in Montreal.
Are you looking for a first-class partner to help you master the challenges you are facing in open-innovation mode?
season 3_
2021 - 2022
AIKO uses AI software to enable end-to-end mission automation, both at the single satellite and constellation level.
Amiral Technologies develops and markets a blind failure prediction software for IIoT-enabled equipment. Blind means they predict equipment failures without historical failure data. Magical? No, they invent scientific methods producing highly discriminant health indicators from industrial time-series data generated by equipment sensors.
SenX offers an open-source solution platform to store, to manage and to analyze sensors data including AI, based on an advanced scalable time series and geo time series technology.
The Edge Company uses a computer vision technology to recognize types of bird species that pose a risk to aircraft during take-off and landing and can activate a species-specific distress call to disperse them. At the same time, they can see drones to protect the area from incursion by drones.
Season 2_
2020 - 2021
M-CADOR solves visual inspection challenges using the power of computer vision.
"With the support of AI@Centech, we were able to launch two projects with Thales in just a few months that tackle real-world problems. They opened doors for us that would have otherwise been difficult to reach and were committed to our success with every step."
Rodolph Vogt
CEO, M-CADOR
My Data Models develops augmented analytics solutions for researchers, engineers and domain experts wishing to have a deep understanding of their data.
"This acceleration program with AI@Centech has been a highly constructive journey. It has allowed the diffusion of the use of our technology within Thales, leading to strong collaborations on new product developments."
Denis Bastiment
COO & CTO, MyDataModels
Paladin creates data-driven tools to optimize and accelerate aviation training. Utilizes cloud-based machine learning and AI to dynamically learn the patterns of behaviour indicative of pilot competence.
"It has been a great experience working with the AI@Centech team. The program helped us validate our technology and facilitated important partnership for us."
Mikhail Klassen
CTO, Paladin AI
Zumo Labs leverages technology typically used by the video game industry to generate synthetic training data representing human poses and behaviour, used for computer vision models that extract information from images.
"The experience of working with Thales though the AI@Centech has been invaluable for Zumo Labs' growth as a startup. AI@Centech allowed us to demonstrate the value of synthetic data to push the performance level of computer vision."
Elena Ponte
CEO, Zumo Labs
1
Minimum
viable
product
8
pROOFS
OF
CONCEPT
68
Business opportunities explored
C$504K
orders to startups
Demo Day_
The closing event of our second season took place on March 9th, 2021. This virtual event showcased the successes of the collaboration between the startups and Thales to clients and the AI-ecosystem.
After a short panel, the startups were able to pitch their solutions and network with Thales stakeholders.
Season 1_
2019 - 2020
1
Minimum
viable
product
3
pROOFS
OF
CONCEPT
26
Business opportunities explored
Demo Day_
The closing event of the first season took place on January 30th, 2020. During this event, we brought together clients, the AI-ecosystem and Thales colleagues to meet and witness the results of our collaboration.
After a short conference, the startups were able to pitch their solutions and network with Thales stakeholders.
THALES_
The people we all rely on to make the world go around – they rely on Thales.
Our customers come to us with big ambitions to make life better, to keep us safer. Combining a unique diversity of expertise, talents and cultures, our architects design and deliver extraordinary high technology solutions. Solutions that make tomorrow possible today.
From the bottom of the oceans to the depth of space and cyberspace, we help our customers think smarter and act faster, mastering ever greater complexity and every decisive moment along the way.
MARKETS_
To help create a safer world, we serve five keys sectors.
_Centech
Centech offers startups the richness of an environment conducive to development while giving high visibility and access to a considerable network, workspaces, meeting rooms and other related services.
Created in 1996 by the École de Technologie Supérieure, Centech is located in the heart of Montreal's Quartier de l'Innovation. With its two programs - Acceleration and Propulsion - CENTECH acts as a veritable growth machine and has created one of the greatest densities of high-level tech entrepreneurs in Canada.
_Contact
are you a startup or a future actor in the AI-ecosystem, and want to be part of the adventure?
Contact us!
ai-at-centech@thalesdigital.io
Thales - Centech innovation cell
1000 Saint-Jacques street, suite J-2100
Montreal (Quebec) H3C 1G7
Thales - cortAIx location
6650 Saint-Urbain street, suite 350
Montreal (Quebec) H2S 3G9
news_
THALES TO SPARK INNOVATION AMONG FIVE AI STARTUPS WITH SEASON 3 OF AI@CENTECH PROGRAM
Thales has launched Season 3 of AI@Centech, a business accelerator designed to help artificial-intelligence-focused startups tackle real-world problems. [...]
A new way of networking for the open innovation community
After completing two successful seasons and while poised to launch a third season with startups, the AI@Centech team tested the Gather.town platform to organize a remote networking event to connect its Alumni to the whole Thales community and its partners. [...]
THE THALES AI@CENTECH PROGRAM ACCELERATES THE SUCCESS OF THE WORLD’S MOST PROMISING AI INNOVATORS
The AI@Centech business acceleration program announced its Season 2 cohort of global, AI-enabled startups today. [...]
THALES AI@CENTECH SELECTS FIVE WINNING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE START-UPS
Committed to championing global innovation in artificial intelligence (AI), Thales, as part of its partnership with world-leading business accelerator CENTECH, today announced the 5 start-ups selected by an international jury to participate in its first season of AI@CENTECH: a 6-month program focused on advancing the success of the most promising AI innovators around the world. [...]
CENTECH AND THALES LAUNCH AI@CENTECH TO BOOST START-UPS TO SUCCESS IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
The explosion of digital technologies is an essential ingredient to boost innovation, accelerating the creative process to develop new solutions for a world that is increasingly data-driven, connected, immersive and reliant on autonomous systems. [...]
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Transmission of user information
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You may also address your information or request by postal mail to Thales's registered office for the attention of the department identified in the corresponding section of this Website.
Modifications
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Personal Data - Information Notice
When filling this completing the contact form, you will share your first name, surname and your email address (“Personal Data”) with Thales.
This data is used for the following purposes: correspondence, security and compliance with the applicable regulations, laws. The provision of your Personal Data is needed so that Thales can communicate with you.
For the abovementioned purposes, your Personal Data will be kept for one (1) year after its collection.
In the context of such processing, the recipients of all or part of your Personal Data will be the personnel of THALES and other entities of its group in charge of the administration, supervision and management of Thales information systems, as well as some personnel of third parties which provide services to Thales, in particular hosting and maintenance services of its information systems, all such recipients being located within the European Economic Area and in the countries listed below.
Please note that you have the right to access your Personal Data and to request that your personal data be rectified or deleted. You are also entitled to request restriction of the processing of your Personal Data.
In case of any request or complaint, please send an email to ai-at-centech@thalesdigital.io
You can also contact our Data Protection Officer by sending an email to the following address: dataprotection@thalesgroup.com.
In any case, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent data protection authority
TERMS OF USE_
As part of the registration process for the AI@Centech program, you share certain personal data with THALES, in particular, the names, first names and contact details of the founders of your company ("Personal Data").
This Personal Data is processed for the purpose of studying applications; security and compliance with applicable legal requirements. The purposes here referred to are necessary for the operation of the AI@Centech program offered by THALES.
For each of the purposes set out above, unless otherwise required by law, your Personal Data will be kept for two (2) years from the time it is collected.
THALES also reserves the right to transmit and give access to all or part of the personal data collected to the targeted staff of other entities and subsidiaries that are part of Thales Group in the context of this processing for the purposes of administration, supervision, management. THALES information systems and/or maintenance of its information systems.
In any event, you have the right to access your personal data. For legitimate reasons, you can request access, communication, modification, rectification and erasure of your data. You also have the right to request a limitation of processing and to object to their processing.
For any request or complaint, you can send an email to ai-at-centech@thalesdigital.io.
You can also contact our Personal Data Protection Officer by sending an email to the following address: dataprotection@thalesgroup.com.
In any event, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent data protection authority.
CREDITS_
This website has been realized under the supervision of Thales Digital Factory's communication and AI@Centech teams.
CMS Architecture & Development, Graphic Design, UX
AI@Centech
Content
Thales Digital Factory and AI@Centech
Pictures Credits
Thales Digital Factory , AI@Centech, Thales & Unsplash
Lodging
The call for startups for Season 3 has ended. We thank you for your interest and suggest that you register your interest in the following form.