Daniel Wigdor and Tovi Grossman are co-founders of Axl, a new Toronto-based venture studio. (supplied photos)
University of Toronto computer science professors Daniel Wigdor and Tovi Grossman have announced a new initiative to help Canada benefit economically from university research and top tech talent. The pair are among the co-founders of Axl, a Toronto-based venture studio with the ambitious goal of launching 50 artificial intelligence (AI) companies over the next five years.
“Canada has been dramatically underperforming and failing to take up the incredible innovation happening here,” Wigdor tells The Globe and Mail. “With the right investment of community, of infrastructure, of capital and of innovation, we can really solve that problem.”
Axl is designed to bridge the gap between academic research and commercial application. By identifying real-world business problems and matching them with entrepreneurial talent and cutting-edge AI research, the studio hopes to foster a new generation of Canadian tech companies. The venture recently secured a $15-million investment fund, with Wigdor serving as chief executive and lead investor.
The studio is headquartered at the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus, home to the Vector Institute and a hub for AI research in Canada. Axl’s leadership team also includes entrepreneur Ray Sharma and former Telus executive David Sharma. The initiative has attracted support from prominent investors, including mining executive Rob McEwen and Smart Technologies co-founder David Martin.
Grossman, who serves as Axl’s chief scientist, emphasized the studio’s commitment to impactful innovation. One of its early projects, CodeAid, is an AI-powered educational tool that inverts traditional teaching models by having students teach an AI agent. Axl is also partnering with Canadian corporations to co-develop AI solutions tailored to industry needs, with Dillon Consulting announced as its first partner.