The natural-language processing company and quantum computing firm were recognized among the research institute’s inaugural list of 20 artificial-intelligence companies that “best reflect Canada’s AI startup ecosystem.” (The Logic)

Talking point: While AI has been viewed in the past as “far-fetched stuff of blockbuster movies,” the list aims to surface the cream of the crop. It analyzes the firms’ performance out of more than 150 Canadian AI firms that achieved major milestones like fundraising and new projects over the past two years. As The Logic has reported, the Vector Institute has tried to better commercialize work by Canada’s academic AI superstars, and as the ecosystem has matured, companies like Cohere, self-driving vehicle company Waabi and biotech firm Deep Genomics have gotten global investors’ attention. Other members of Vector’s list include robotics firm Otto Motors and Untether AI, which helps computers better handle AI workloads.