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LG to open next AI research lab in Canada

The company will also kick off a new research partnership with the University of Toronto.

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University of Toronto President Meric Gertler and LG President and Chief Technology Officer Il-pyung Park have agreed to a five-year research partnership.

LG

LG will build its next artificial intelligence (AI) research lab in Toronto, it announced Wednesday.

The South Korean electronics company said the Canadian lab is an extension of its newly expanded Silicon Valley AI Lab in Santa Clara, California. It also has AI labs in South Korea, India and Russia.

"Early implementations of AI in connected devices today are setting the stage for tomorrow's smart cities, smart homes, smart businesses and smart devices, all with capabilities that no one has even dreamed of yet." said LG President and Chief Technology Officer Il-pyung Park.

LG also noted that it's entered into a five-year research partnership with the University of Toronto, highlighting the institution's deep learning expertise.

"The University of Toronto looks forward to partnering with an innovative global company like LG as our researchers continue to advance the boundaries of artificial intelligence," said Meric Gertler, the university's president.

"The presence of such leading, multinational firms in our innovation ecosystem strengthens opportunities for our faculty, students and start-up companies across a whole range of disciplines."

Speaking to CNET's Roger Cheng in January, Park said LG is approaching AI as more than "a marketing strategy" -- instead it's focusing on practical use.

"You can talk about AI all day, but if the customer doesn't get any value out of it, it becomes useless," he said at the time.

Samsung previously announced its expansion of its own AI research into Canada, along with the UK and Russia.

Last month, LG Display's announced that China had approved an expansion of its OLED production -- the company will open a new factory that will focus on TV panels.