Jumio AI Labs Expands To Montreal

Jumio, the creator of the Netverify Trusted-Identity-as-a-Service (TIaaS), announced the launch of Jumio AI Labs in Montreal, which will focus on the creation, experimentation and deployment of machine learning (ML) and deep learning technologies.

This new location will expand the work already being done by the company’s Vienna-based artificial intelligence (AI) team, with the Montreal staff working on building production models that perform three key functions associated with online identity verification: data extraction, fraud detection and risk scoring.

The team is led by Jumio’s CTO and Chief Scientist Labhesh Patel, who will be hiring additional ML engineers and AI specialists for the Montreal location.

“Because of Jumio’s scale and deep experience in ID and identity verification, we have amassed very large data sets that are being leveraged to develop highly predictive AI models,” Patel said in a press release. “Jumio’s AI Labs will build on this experience to further refine our supervised AI models, develop best practices and continue as a platform of innovation.”

Montreal was chosen as the lab’s location due to the city’s emergence as a major technology hub for AI. Other factors include a low cost of living and several large local universities and academic institutions.

“Jumio’s creation of its AI Labs in Montreal and the investment in research around deep learning are both strong signals of the economic attractiveness of Montreal. This is the result of the city’s ongoing effort to promote a vibrant ecosystem of innovation,” said Hubert Bolduc, president and CEO at Montréal International, an organization dedicated to sparking economic development within Greater Montreal.

Jumio launched in 2011 with a camera-based solution for helping merchants verify credit cards online, first using webcams and eventually branching out into a variety of mobile tools.

This announcement is good news for the company, which filed for bankruptcy in 2016 before raising $15 million just a few months later.