Montreal - NEXT Canada has announced it has expanded its startup accelerator scheme, focused on artificial intelligence, to Montréal. Prospective startups can begin pitching for places in the program in September, although one place is up for grabs in July.

NEXT Canada's artificial intelligence accelerator foray into Montréal is being carried out in partnership with the business school Executive Education HEC Montréal, which has spent over 60 years working with managers and executives in Quebec, and around the world, to achieve higher levels of business performance. Both organizations are partners in SCALE AI, which is Canada’s artificial intelligence 'supercluster', established for developing and building the next-generation supply chain.

Commenting on the new venture, NEXT Canada CEO Sheldon Levy stated: "We are thrilled to kick off our first expansion outside of Ontario at Canada’s largest annual technology and startup festival, here in Montreal. We are forging special relationships with HEC Montréal as well as with Hélène Desmarais and her colleagues at SCALE AI, who have built a consortium of incredible partners. We intend to make NextAI an integral part of Montréal’s robust AI ecosystem."
With the new NEXT Canada venture, applications officially do not open until September; however, interested startups are encourage to begin formulating plans. NextAI also has an early award on offer: an advance spot in the Montréal cohort for the best team who pitches an AI-enabled venture idea at AI Fest. AI Fest is a feature of the annual StartupFest, taking place between July 10 and July 14, 2018. The event offers the potential for concrete investments and networking opportunities for a range of different startups. All ventures that secure NextAI support will be awarded up to $200,000 in seed funding to go towards their business plan

This article originally appeared in The Digital Journal