Mitacs and AltaML partner to advance applied AI innovation, strengthening Canada’s talent pipeline

Vancouver, BC and Edmonton, AB – Mitacs, a national innovation connector that supports business-academic research collaboration, and AltaML Inc., a leader in applied artificial intelligence (AI) that builds agentic AI solutions to unlock value for clients and elevate human potential,  have announced a new Mitacs Business Strategy Internship (BSI) Umbrella agreement to advance AI innovation and highly qualified personnel (HQP) development across Canada.

Rather than applying for each student research project individually, this Umbrella agreement with AltaML establishes a single, pre-approved framework that makes it faster and easier to connect multiple paid student interns with industry, getting talent into the field more quickly and at greater scale. Mitacs and AltaML will collaborate to embed emerging talent into cross-functional AI project teams from research to commercialization, enabling the development, testing, and deployment of innovative AI solutions across sectors including healthcare, energy, financial services, agriculture, and government. The partnership also underscores Alberta’s growing role as a hub for applied AI and innovation.

Both organizations share a commitment to bridging academia and industry through applied research. Since 2018, AltaML has hosted over 160 Mitacs interns across 240+ internships and 85+ projects, and through this renewed and expanded partnership, both organizations will build upon demonstrated outcomes to scale innovation impact and deepen industry-academic collaboration. This new BSI umbrella targets 132 internship units over two years, with cohorts of 15–20 interns recruited each term from post-secondary institutions across Canada, including the University of Calgary, University of Alberta, University of Waterloo, and the University of Toronto.

This Umbrella agreement structure will allow AltaML to efficiently scope and launch multiple projects directly tied to real-world use cases and supported by established industry partners. AltaML brings a proven track record of delivering applied AI in the public sector through GovLab, a program co-founded with the Government of Alberta and Mitacs, where recent projects have safeguarded $110 million in monthly childcare payments, processed 500,000+ daily cybersecurity logs, and reduced school capital planning analysis time by 81% across an $8.6 billion construction program. By leveraging Mitacs funding, AltaML will continue to de-risk innovation and accelerate the development of agentic AI solutions that deliver measurable impact in health, education, justice, and infrastructure.

Mitacs has long recognized the pivotal role of science, technology, and innovation in fostering economic growth and resilience, and this partnership with AltaML will drive innovation across a broad range of industries by facilitating applied machine learning research in collaboration with academic partners.

Quotes

“Through the partnership between Mitacs and AltaML’s GovLab, applied AI solutions are being developed to address critical public-sector challenges such as wildfire prediction, infrastructure capital planning, and workforce optimization. This collaboration helps solve real-world challenges by translating research into tools that enable data-driven decisions, operational efficiency, and measurable societal impact.”

Dr. Stephen Lucas, CEO, Mitacs

“Our partnership with Mitacs has always been about more than technology. It’s about developing homegrown AI talent and building made-in-Canada solutions that address the real challenges facing Canadians. This agreement deepens that commitment and gives us the structure to move faster, scale further, and deliver meaningful results across the country.”

Cory Janssen, Co-Founder and CEO, AltaML 

About Mitacs

For over 25 years, Mitacs has helped grow the economy and develop the workforce of tomorrow, connecting industry with academia and global partners to solve real-world challenges. We support business-academic research collaboration through internships, co-funded with businesses, for undergraduate to graduate students and post-doctoral fellows.    

As a national innovation connector, Mitacs takes a talent-first approach to strengthen innovation capacity and drive global competitiveness. We serve as an essential research-commercialization bridge, accelerating market entry and growth for new products and services.    

This is a critical time for Canada to think big and take bold action. Mitacs is ready to help build a strong and resilient Canadian economy, powered by ideas, talent and innovation.    

Mitacs is funded by the Government of Canada, the Government of Alberta, the Government of British Columbia, Research Manitoba, the Government of New Brunswick, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Government of Nova Scotia, the Government of Ontario, Innovation PEI, the Government of Quebec, the Government of Saskatchewan, and the Government of Yukon. 

For further information, please contact:
Ziona Eyob
Senior Communications & Public Affairs Specialist
Mitacs
[email protected]

About AltaML

AltaML builds agentic AI solutions that unlock value for clients and elevate human potential. Powered by AltaForge, its proprietary AI agent platform, AltaML develops, deploys, and manages scalable AI solutions that combine reusable agents and built-in governance frameworks. This end-to-end approach helps organizations realize value faster, drive innovation, and achieve measurable impact. Guided by a people-first philosophy, AltaML is shaping a future where humans and AI work together to solve complex challenges and unlock new opportunities.

For further information, please contact:
Carolynne Heron
Chief Operating Officer (COO)
AltaML
[email protected]
[email protected]