centre de recherche informatique

What centre de recherche informatique does

CRIM (Centre de Recherche Informatique de Montréal) is a non-profit applied research institute founded in 1985 and headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. Following its April 1, 2026 merger with INO to form Luqia, the organization employs approximately 250 staff and operates as Quebec's largest industrial innovation laboratory for artificial intelligence (and, via INO, photonics) serving enterprises. Its core technology stack spans artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, software architecture, and "Trusted AI" (Confiance IA), with applied capabilities in predictive analytics, recommendation engines, computer vision, speech and audio processing (including Indigenous languages), operations research optimization, and knowledge retrieval. Proprietary products include The Solutionneur (school timetable generation), ClimateData.ca and PAVICS (climate data platforms), and frameworks such as Trust by Design.

The organization serves a mix of SMEs (53% of 200 organizations served in 2024-2025), large enterprises, and government/institutional clients across Quebec and Ontario. Named customers include CGI, L'Oréal Canada, Bridgestone Canada, JLR, Ville de Montréal, and Centre de services scolaire de Laval. CRIM operates a three-tier revenue model: (1) core government grants from the Ministère de l'Économie, de l'Innovation et de l'Énergie du Québec supplemented by NRC-IRAP partnership funding; (2) recurring annual membership fees providing access to events, advisory, and up to 15% service discounts; and (3) project-based applied research, experimental development, and coaching services billed on multi-year contracts. Strategic programs include NUMERIA (AI adoption for SMEs), DÉCLIC IA (SME AI deployment with up to 45% co-funding), Activation IA training, and the Confiance IA consortium ($4.5M, 2023).

Following the Luqia merger, the Quebec government committed $141M in March 2026 to accelerate development, and CRIM signed a strategic partnership with Quadbridge in May 2026 to scale AI adoption into mid-market firms. The organization is governed by a board chaired by Guillaume Bazinet (CEO of FX Innovation) with directors from Google Cloud, CAE, National Bank, Talsom, and the University of Ottawa. Françoys Labonté (formerly CRIM CEO) serves as Interim CEO of Luqia alongside President Alain Chandonnet (formerly INO CEO). CRIM maintains ISO 9001:2015 certification and reports 39 scientific publications and 41 major events organized in the 2024-2025 fiscal year.

Name

centre de recherche informatique

Legal name

Centre de recherche informatique de Montréal

Website

https://crim.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Short description

CRIM is a non-profit applied AI research institute founded in 1985 in Montreal, serving Quebec SMEs, large enterprises, and government with AI, data science, and trusted AI services; following its April 2026 merger with INO into Luqia, it operates as Canada's largest industrial AI and photonics innovation laboratory.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Montreal

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: Primary funding from Ministère de l'Économie, de l'Innovation et de l'Énergie du Québec as a not-for-profit applied research center. Additional federal funding through NRC-IRAP partnership.
2. Membership Fees: Annual membership fees providing access to AI ecosystem, networking, events, and exclusive member benefits including discounts on services up to 15%.
3. Project-based Services: Applied research, experimental development, and knowledge transfer services for organizations. Includes coaching, support for technology projects, and financing assistance.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

CRIM is a non-profit applied research institute that provides applied research, experimental development, and technology services in artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, software architecture, and trusted AI for organizations in Quebec and across Canada. The organization combines scientific research with practical consulting, coaching, and knowledge transfer to help SMEs, large enterprises, government bodies, and educational institutions adopt and deploy AI solutions. CRIM also develops and operates dedicated software products and platforms (e.g., The Solutionneur, ClimateData.ca, PAVICS) and structured programs such as DÉCLIC IA and NUMERIA to support AI adoption.

Product overview

CRIM (Centre de Recherche Informatique de Montréal) is a non-profit applied research institute that has been serving Quebec companies for over 40 years. Following its April 2026 merger with INO to form Luqia, the organization offers a portfolio of AI-focused programs and services including DÉCLIC IA (structured AI deployment for SMEs), NUMERIA (AI adoption program), and Activation IA (training course). The organization also develops specialized software products like The Solutionneur (automated school scheduling) and maintains platforms like ClimateData.ca and PAVICS for climate research. CRIM provides experimental development, technical support, and knowledge transfer to help organizations of all sizes integrate AI and advanced technologies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• DÉCLIC IA Structured program designed for Québec SMEs to select and deploy AI projects with a rigorous framework, impartial approach, and financial support covering up to 45% of deployment costs. Includes calls for projects and supplier matching.
• NUMERIA (From Digital to AI) AI adoption program offering a three-step approach (answering AI questions, developing internal skills through mentoring, and evaluating organizational data) to help SMEs overcome challenges of their first AI projects.
• Activation IA Training course designed for SMEs wishing to initiate or structure their technological shift, helping transform AI into a genuine growth lever.
• Confiance IA Consortium Major consortium supported by $4.5 million in government funding, developing tools and methods for designing reliable, robust, and fair AI systems (Trusted AI).
• The Solutionneur Automated school timetable generation software using state-of-the-art mathematical approaches; the only tool adapted to Quebec's school system. Used by Quebec school service centres.
• ClimateData.ca Climate information portal making scientific terrestrial climate data accessible to Canadian decision-makers for climate change adaptation planning and simulations.
• PAVICS Platform for climate scientists to design and visualize customized climate change scenarios, explore and analyze petabytes of climate data, and study impacts and adaptation options.
• Luqia Industrial Innovation Laboratory Industrial innovation laboratory formed through the merger of INO and CRIM, combining advanced photonics and trusted AI capabilities. Offers advanced AI solutions spanning text, voice, structured data, imaging, and other complex AI applications for enterprises.

Quantifiable outcome

• Companies served saw their capacity for innovation boosted, revenues increased, and competitiveness improved
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability13 records

Feature9 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered strategic, core and supporting.

• QuadbridgestrategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 May 2026Strategic collaboration focused on helping mid-market organizations accelerate AI adoption. Combines Luqia's deep expertise in AI and advanced custom solution development with Quadbridge's experience in technology modernization and operational frameworks for AI deployment.
• National Research Council of Canada (NRC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term collaboration on application of audio indexing and speaker recognition technologies to Indigenous languages. CRIM developing speech recognition systems adapted to target Indigenous languages in Canada.
• OuranoscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLead partner in PAVICS project - platform for climate scientists to design and visualize climate change scenarios. CRIM provides technical expertise for data analysis and visualization.
• CGIstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration to design Intelligent Decision Support System for Storms module for power grid restoration. Module integrated into CGI's PragmaSMART solution for electricity distribution companies.
• DialektastrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to develop MediaSigma platform for programmatic advertising. CRIM provided technological support, proof of concepts in data analysis, and project management advice.
• JLRstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration to optimize Évia property value analysis software using machine learning and neural networks. CRIM developed algorithms using satellite imagery for property characteristic detection.
• L'Oréal CanadastrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerR&D partnership to design tools for custom product recommendations using collaborative filtering machine learning techniques.
• Ville de MontréalstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership under Smart City strategy to improve city practices and computer systems. CRIM developed firefighter response time prediction and risk prediction tools.
• Centre de services scolaire de LavalstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint development of The Solutionneur - automated school timetable generation software adapted to Quebec school system.
• JakartostrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration to develop automatic recognition system for urban objects (street furniture, signs, etc.) for detailed city mapping using machine learning.
• JakartostrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerSatellite imagery and facade photo analysis for property valuation - JLR's Jakarto project data combined with CRIM's machine learning expertise.
• Various Ecosystem PartnerssupportingOthersNetwork of partners including NRC, Prompt, ScaleAI, Investissement Québec, ÉTS Formation, and various CQRDA, CRIQ, CRIAQ, CRITM organizations providing financing support and collaboration opportunities.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves2 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Mila (Montreal Institute for Learning Algorithms): Quebec-based AI research institute founded by Yoshua Bengio. Closest direct peer—both are Montreal-headquartered AI research organizations serving Quebec and Canadian industry with deep technical expertise and government backing.
• IVADO (Institute for Data Valorization): Montreal-based consortium advancing data science and AI research with industry-academic partnerships. Direct peer to CRIM with overlapping Montreal AI ecosystem positioning and similar member/partnership model.
• Vector Institute: Toronto-based AI research institute founded in partnership with industry, government, and academia. Direct peer operating in the same Canadian AI applied research space, serving similar enterprise and SME clients with AI expertise.
• Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii): Edmonton-based AI research institute with strong industry partnerships. Direct peer operating in the same Canadian AI applied research space, with similar mandate to bridge academic AI research and commercial deployment.
• NRC IRAP (Industrial Research Assistance Program): National Research Council program providing advisory services and financial support to Canadian SMEs for technology innovation. Direct peer as CRIM is an NRC-IRAP delivery partner with overlapping SME AI advisory mandate.
• Calcul Québec: Quebec research computing consortium providing HPC infrastructure and services to academic researchers. Direct peer in the Quebec applied research ecosystem with overlapping government-backed research support mandate.

Others

• Prompt Québec:

Broad incumbents

• Mitacs: Canadian national research network connecting academia, industry, and government through research internship programs. Broad incumbent operating across Canada with similar applied research mandate but broader scope than CRIM's AI focus.
• CIFAR (Canadian Institute for Advanced Research): Canadian research organization funding advanced research across disciplines including AI. Broad incumbent with similar mandate to advance AI research in Canada but operating at a higher academic/funding level rather than direct commercial delivery.

Regional players

• MaRS Discovery District: Toronto-based innovation hub supporting startups and growth-stage companies. Regional peer with similar applied technology innovation mandate but based in Ontario, serving a different geographic market than CRIM's Quebec focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/wwwCRIMca
• Facebookfacebook.com/CRIM-419393221455592
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/crim

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

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