Supporting AI research projects in the creative industry: the example of the Quebec PIXEL-IA grant

21 février 2022

Through artificial intelligence, the Quebec government wants to propel Quebec companies towards the adoption of new, more efficient, more current and more competitive production methods. As part of Partner IA, PROMPT, an industrial research cluster (RSRI) specializing in the new technologies and information technologies sector, and 24 organizations have jointly announced the launch of PIXEL-IA, a grant designed specifically for organizations working in the creative industries sector.

The mission of the sector-based industrial research clusters (RSRIs) is to establish and support a collaborative innovation ecosystem conducive to the development of strategic sectors of the economy for the benefit of research centers, businesses and Quebec society. Each RSRI has its own specialty, while PROMPT targets the entire ICT sector, from hardware to software, as much at the component level as at the network and application level.

PARTENAR-IA

Partenar-IA is a concerted call for projects in artificial intelligence aimed at subsidizing targeted industrial sectors. The Government of Quebec has mandated the nine Regroupements Sectoriels de Recherche Industrielle (RSRI) to identify promising projects related to artificial intelligence in their specific environment (CQRDA, CQDM, CRIAQ, CRIBIQ, CRITM, InnovÉÉ, MEDTEQ, PRIMA, PROMPT). The latter, within the framework of PARTENAR-IA, finances, on behalf of the Ministère de l’Économie et de l’Innovation du Québec (MEI), Quebec companies working to develop and propagate solutions and tools based on artificial intelligence in the new information and digital technologies sector. It has therefore announced the establishment of PIXEL-IA, a grant that will complement the grants of the call for projects.

PIXEL-IA

The PIXEL-IA grant aims to further support the Quebec creative industry in the development of innovations exploiting the capabilities and possibilities of AI, to make the sector even more competitive on the national and global scene. A sum of $10,000 will be added to the maximum amount of$ 150,000 that can be granted to each project funded by the PARTENAR-IA program. Frédéric Bove, General Manager of Prompt explains:

“For more than 20 years, Quebec has been banking on the development of the multimedia, video game and entertainment sectors as a strategic economic pillar. Since 2017, with more than $2.3 billion in public and private investments in AI, Quebec has positioned itself as a very attractive international innovation and research hub. Through the PIXEL-IA grant, PROMPT supports innovations at the confluence of these two sectors and leverages past investments to position Quebec on the cutting-edge stages of tomorrow." </blockquote>The following PROMPT partners have confirmed their willingness to participate in this call for projects and to promote the PIXEL-IA grant within this priority sector: <ul> <li>Quebec Film and Television Bureau (QFTC)</li> <li>Center for Development and Research in Digital Intelligence (CDRIN)</li> <li>Center d'entreprises et d'innovation de Montréal (CEIM)</li> <li>Center de recherche informatique de Montréal (CRIM)</li> <li>Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence</li> <li>JACOBB</li> <li>Center for Digital Imaging and Interactive Media (CIMMI)</li> <li>PHI Center</li> <li>School of Digital Arts, Animation and Design (NAD)</li> <li>Entertain-AI</li> <li>Digihub</li> <li>IA Forum Quebec</li> <li>Quebec Video Game Guild</li> <li>Game Play Space / Espace Ludique</li> <li>HUB Montreal</li> <li>IVADO</li> <li>Montreal International</li> <li>MT Lab</li> <li>Quartier des spectacles Partnership</li> <li>Québec EPIX</li> <li>Québec Numérique</li> <li>Society for Arts and Technology (SAT)</li> <li>SYNTHESIS Pôle image Québec</li> <li>ZÙ</li> <li>Xn Quebec</li> </ul> <h3>Eligibility Requirements </h3>To be eligible for the PIXEL-IA grant, companies in the creative industry must meet the criteria of the PARTENAR-IA program, which includes, among its benefits, financial assistance of up to$ 150,000 and support representing up to 50% of eligible expenses.

Companies have until April 15, 2022 to apply for funding. Full details are available here. For example, here are a few Quebec creative companies whose artificial intelligence projects are supported by PROMPT: Grokvideo is developing an AI program with the ability to automatically generate trailers, OVA is seeking to democratize virtual and augmented reality with an easy-to-use tool, and BEAM ME UP is able to measure the emotions aroused by chapters in a video game.

Translated from Soutenir les projets de recherche en IA dans l’industrie créative : l’exemple de la bourse québécoise PIXEL-IA