Google in Montréal: 20 years of building technology… and Montréal!

It all started in 2017 around ice cream at Ben & Jerry’s on McGill College, just across from Place Ville Marie. I had reached out to Hugo Larochelle, suggesting a formal meeting, but it turns out my guest was more into ice cream. Perhaps Hugo was craving a taste of New England, having recently relocated from Boston to Montréal. 

We casually chatted about this up-and-coming sector called “artificial intelligence” and how Montréal was already showing major strengths in the field. Hugo Larochelle had decided to join the party that was just getting started in his home province to lead Google Brain, a new world-class AI lab in Montréal that inspired many more to follow suit (I’ll get to that shortly).   

That ice cream led to one of the first networking events focused on Montréal’s AI community the following December. It was held in Long Beach, as a side event of the NeurIPS conference. Professor Yoshua Bengio was there, along with Joëlle Pineau, Doina Precup, and others. Watching Montréal’s AI community mingle like this made it crystal clear to me: AI was the next big industry for Montréal. I was determined to get the word out to grow the local ecosystem.  

The next few years would confirm I was on to something. Since 2018, my colleagues and I have supported more than $2,7 billion worth of foreign investment projects with an AI component in Montréal. From my point of view, a substantial part of the world’s AI developments are driven by Montréal expertise. 

So, how did that happen? Was it the networking events? Another Google lab? Did we put something in Montréal’s running water to rewire our brains? 

In my mind, the creation of Mila, one of the most prestigious AI-research institutes, along with generous government incentives are more likely the key instigators of Montréal’s AI success. Yet, Google’s journey in the city is also part of the story. And its impact goes beyond AI.  

Deep roots in Montréal’s tech community 

Google launched its operations in Montréal in 2004 with a coworking space hosting three “Googlers”. The company quickly saw a big potential in the local expertise, mandating the team to support the creation of ​Google ​Chrome​’s​ key features. To this day, I like to think that there’s a little bit of Montréal in that browser every time I open a window! Meanwhile, another team was formed to develop reCAPTCHA, that infamous tool that asks you to identify motorcycles or traffic lights to confirm you are a human being.  

The turning point came in 2016 when Google Brain (now Google DeepMind) came to Montréal, ​expanding ​the company’s AI branch. From where I stand, it was the first of a series of major AI investments in the city.  

Aside from the fame that Montréal gained with Google’s local investments, the company has played a key role in supporting Mila and many other research faculties through substantial financial contributions and collaborative work (my ice cream buddy Hugo is an adjunct professor at Université de Montréal and a Canada CIFAR Chair).  

When it comes to the broader tech scene in Montréal, Google’s involvement has been key in training our world class talent pool with partnerships and contributions to organizations such as Startup Montréal, Pathways to Education and many more. Today, Montréal’s talent pool is among the most often cited reasons for foreign investors to choose our city.  

Meanwhile, its training programs and other digital tools have been deployed across Québec to support small and medium sized enterprises’ growth and digital transformation. In 2022, Google’s various activities in Québec generated an economic impact of $9 billion in the province, according to an Public First analysis.  

As far as my day-to-day job goes, Google’s Montréal story remains an integral part of my pitch to convince other investors to follow suit. If one of the world’s leading tech companies is so committed to Montréal, rooted so deeply through multiple collaborative projects, it must be worth a shot, right? And my pals at Google are always ready to shine a bright light on our city!  

When I think back to that ice cream at Ben & Jerry’s, I was a bit clueless about its impact on the next decade of my career promoting Greater Montréal to foreign investors. As we know now, our AI ecosystem and our IT talent pool would become some of Montréal’s top economic assets! With that, I wish my Montréal Googler friends a very happy 20th anniversary. Thanks for your continuous support, and cheers to another 20 years of strong collaborations!  

From left to right: Alexandre Genest (MI), Mark Maclean (MI), Laurence Therrien (Google) and Alexandre Lagarde (MI) at Google’s 20th anniversary celebrations in Montréal