Forum IA Québec

What Forum IA Québec does

Forum IA Québec is a non-profit organization (OBNL) established in April 2020 in Montreal, Quebec, with the mission of making artificial intelligence a lever of economic and social development for the province. The organization coordinates Quebec's AI ecosystem by convening research centers (MILA, IVADO), AI-producing startups, user organizations, educational institutions, and government bodies around common projects spanning five strategic priorities: Promotion, Performance, Talent, Adoption, and Society. Its core deliverable is the Vitrine IA Québec platform, launched in 2021, which serves as a digital entry point to the Quebec AI ecosystem and includes a directory of 700+ AI organizations, case studies, and a funding search engine. Supporting tools include an AI adoption maturity self-assessment developed with Université Laval's Institut Intelligence et Données, a guided adopter journey (Parcours de l'adopteur), a use-case directory organized by sector, and an ethical AI evaluation tool developed with OBVIA.

The organization also commissions and publishes authoritative research on the ecosystem, including a PwC economic impact study documenting a $1.9 billion GDP increase and 3,000+ jobs created annually from AI investments in Quebec between 2017 and 2021, and a collaboration with Tortoise Media that resulted in Quebec being ranked 7th globally in the 2022 Global AI Index. Forum IA Québec is principally funded by the Ministère de l'Économie, de l'Innovation et de l'Énergie du Québec (MEIE), which mandated its creation following a 2018 recommendation in the Strategy for the Development of Quebec's AI Ecosystem. It co-organizes the annual Rencontres de l'IA with CCMM and Scale AI, and in 2022 launched the Prix de l'excellence québécoise en IA awards. A small leadership team (CEO Marie-Paule Jeansonne plus three directors covering AI adoption, ecosystem performance, and communications) operates the organization with a board drawn from Quebec's leading AI institutions and businesses (Claridge, Scale AI, MILA, IVADO, Inovia, Université de Sherbrooke). Services are provided free of charge and the organization does not operate a commercial revenue model.

Name

Forum IA Québec

Legal name

Forum IA Québec

Website

https://forumia.quebec

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Forum IA Québec is a Montreal-based non-profit that convenes Quebec's AI ecosystem — research centers, startups, enterprises, and government — around shared projects. It operates the Vitrine IA Québec platform and adoption tools, primarily funded by Quebec's MEIE.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

AI Ecosystem Coordination Services

NAICS

Professional Organizations (81392), Business Associations (813910), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

AI Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) Platforms (HDAAAMAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Responsible AI, Security & Privacy Platforms (Safety, Guardrails, PII) (HDAEANAG)

Keywords

• AI ecosystem coordination
• Quebec AI directory
• AI maturity assessment
• Responsible AI adoption
• AI industry association

Headquarters

HQ city

Montréal

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: The Forum IA Québec is primarily funded by government sources. The Ministère de l'Économie, de l'Innovation et de l'Énergie du Québec (MEIE) is the principal financial partner. The Forum was created following a recommendation in the Strategy for the Development of Quebec's AI Ecosystem presented to MEIE in 2018.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Forum IA Québec is a non-profit organization (OBNL) that coordinates Quebec's artificial intelligence ecosystem by connecting AI producers, integrators, and adopters across industry, academia, and government. It operates the Vitrine IA Québec directory platform cataloging 700+ AI organizations, and provides AI maturity assessment tools, ethical AI guidance, and adoption pathways to accelerate responsible AI uptake across Quebec.

Product overview

Forum IA Québec is a non-profit organization (OBNL) established in April 2020 with funding from the Quebec Ministry of Economy, Innovation and Energy (MEIE). Rather than a single unified product, the organization operates a portfolio of digital platforms, tools, and research initiatives focused on coordinating and promoting Quebec's AI ecosystem. The core offering is the Vitrine IA Québec platform, which includes a directory of over 700 AI organizations, case studies, and a funding search engine. Supporting tools include an AI adoption maturity self-assessment tool, a guided adopter journey for businesses, an AI use case directory, and an ethical AI evaluation tool developed with OBVIA. The organization also commissions and publishes research including the Global AI Index evaluation (ranking Quebec 7th globally) and economic impact studies documenting AI's contribution to Quebec's economy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Vitrine IA Québec
• AI Maturity Self-Assessment Tool
• Parcours de l'adopteur (Adopter Pathway)
• Ethical AI Diagnostic Tool
• AI Use Case Directory
• Global AI Index - Quebec Analysis
• PwC Economic Analysis of AI in Quebec

Quantifiable outcome

• Quebec ranked 7th globally in Global AI Index 2022 (Tortoise)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Conseil de l'innovation du QuébeccoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Forum IA Québec joined forces with the Conseil de l'innovation du Québec to continue taking concrete actions to accelerate responsible AI adoption by enterprises and across Quebec society while supporting innovation in this key sector.
• Chambre de commerce du Montréal métropolitain (CCMM)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021CCMM co-organized the Rencontres de l'IA annual event with Forum IA Québec and Scale AI, creating the pinnacle event of the year in artificial intelligence with virtual public sessions.
• Scale AIflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Scale AI (Canada's AI Supercluster) co-organized the Rencontres de l'IA annual event with Forum IA Québec and CCMM, featuring the Prix de l'excellence québécoise en IA awards.
• Institut Intelligence et Données (IID) - Université LavalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Université Laval's IID to develop an AI maturity self-assessment tool for enterprises, enabling companies to evaluate their readiness to adopt AI and receive personalized recommendations.
• OBVIA (Observatoire international sur les impacts sociétaux de l'IA et du numérique)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOBVIA collaborates with Forum IA Québec on ethical AI tools for businesses, comparative ecosystem analysis, and various research initiatives including the white paper on data valorization and AI in the biofood sector.
• CIRANOcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIRANO conducted comparative analysis of international AI ecosystems on behalf of Forum IA Québec and the Pôle montréalais d'enseignement supérieur en IA, identifying innovative practices in AI training and knowledge transfer.
• TECHNOCompétencescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTECHNOCompétences worked with Forum IA Québec on a major study defining the workforce profile in the AI sector, including the Profile de la main-d'œuvre en intelligence artificielle report. TECHNOCompétences also evaluates applications for the Specialized Immigration Pilot Program.
• Tortoise MediacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTortoise agency conducted, at the request and in collaboration with Forum IA Québec, an in-depth evaluation of the Quebec ecosystem for inclusion in their annual Global AI Index, which ranked Quebec 7th globally in 2022.
• PwC CanadacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPwC conducted economic impact study for Forum IA Québec documenting $1.9B GDP increase and 3,000+ jobs annually from AI investments in Quebec (2017-2021).
• Pôle montréalais d'enseignement supérieur en IAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates with Forum IA Québec and CIRANO on comparative ecosystem analysis and talent strategy initiatives. Sylvie Normandeau serves as co-chair of this Pole while also on Forum's board.
• MILAflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerMILA (Quebec AI Institute) is represented on Forum's board by CEO Valérie Pisano and contributes to ecosystem performance measurement advisory committees. One of Quebec's leading AI research institutions.
• IVADOflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerIVADO (Institute for Data-Driven Value Creation) is represented on Forum's board by CEO Luc Vinet. Key partner in analytics, optimization, and machine learning research across Quebec's AI ecosystem.
• Montréal InVivocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMontréal InVivo's President Martin LeBlanc serves on Forum's board. Major life sciences and healthcare innovation cluster collaborating on cross-sector AI initiatives.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Mila (Quebec AI Institute): Quebec's flagship AI research institute, co-founded by Yoshua Bengio, with overlapping ecosystem-building and government-relations mandate. Represented on Forum's board, the two operate as adjacent conveners rather than pure competitors.
• Scale AI: Canada's AI supercluster, co-organizer of the Rencontres de l'IA event with the Forum. Operates as a comparable AI ecosystem mobilization and funding body across Canada with similar convening and adoption-support functions.
• IVADO: Institute for Data-Driven Value Creation, a Quebec-based AI research and training consortium linking academia and industry. Functions as a near-peer ecosystem builder with research, training and adoption mandates that overlap Forum's scope.
• Vector Institute: Toronto-based AI research institute serving as Ontario's flagship AI ecosystem coordinator. Closest direct analogue outside Quebec — research-driven, government- and industry-supported, focused on talent, adoption and ecosystem performance.
• Amii (Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute): Edmonton-based AI research and ecosystem institute, one of three national AI hubs under Canada's Pan-Canadian AI Strategy. Comparable as a regional AI convener linking research, industry adoption and government.
• Conseil de l'innovation du Québec: Quebec's innovation council, which has formally joined forces with Forum IA Québec to accelerate responsible AI adoption. Overlapping mandate on AI adoption, innovation promotion and policy advice to the Quebec government.
• OBVIA: International Observatory on the Societal Impacts of AI and Digital Technology, a Quebec-based research organization that co-developed the Forum's ethical AI evaluation tool. Closest partner on the responsible-AI sub-domain of the Forum's mandate.

Broad incumbents

• CIFAR: Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, secretariat of the Pan-Canadian AI Strategy and convener of the national AI Chairs program. Operates at a higher level across all Canadian AI hubs including the Forum's Quebec network.
• Digital Catapult: UK government-backed innovation accelerator that mobilizes deep-tech ecosystems including AI, with comparable convening, capability-building and adoption-support programs for SMEs and enterprises.
• AI Singapore: National AI program coordinating Singapore's AI ecosystem through research, industry adoption and talent programs. A national-scale analogue of the Forum's Quebec ecosystem-coordination mandate.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ForumIAQuebec
• Facebookfacebook.com/ForumIAQuebec

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Forum IA Québec