MaRS Mornings: Frontiers of AI in Toronto’s Discovery District
This event is officially part of Toronto Tech Week 2025, a weeklong citywide collection of events to connect and celebrate the builders. June 23 → June 27, 2025 | torontotechweek.com.
Explore the heart of AI innovation in Toronto’s Discovery District — the birthplace of modern AI and home to world-leading research and commercialization.
Frontiers of AI is a day of programming on June 25, presented by MaRS, the University of Toronto, and the Vector Institute. Experience Canadian AI in action through panels, demos, workshops, and networking with top innovators, researchers, and decision-makers in tech and business.
This event unites three institutions that helped make Toronto a global AI hub: MaRS, the University of Toronto, and the Vector Institute — bridging cutting-edge research with real-world impact.
MaRS Mornings will take place from 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. at the MaRS Centre Live Lounge. Here's what to expect:
9:30 AM: Doors open
10:00 AM: Grace Lee Reynolds, CEO, MaRS and The Honourable Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario)
10:10 AM: Panel discussion: Infrastructure up: Canada's sovereign compute conundrum
We know Canada’s digital sovereignty hinges on scaling the country’s computing infrastructure. But how can we achieve the results we need — and what will it cost to get there? In an era of intensifying geopolitical tensions and accelerating AI development, this panel highlights the urgent need to expand our domestic capacity and kick our dependence on foreign capital and frameworks.
Panelists: Hojjat Salemi, Chief Business Development Officer, Ranovus | Craig McLellan, Founder & CEO, ThinkLab | Adam Hendin, Co-Founder and CEO, Radium | Roxana Sultan, Chief Data Officer & Vice President, Health, Vector Institute.
Moderated by: Joe Castaldo, Business Reporter, Globe and Mail.
10:45 AM: Lightning talk by Seth Hardy, Co-Founder and CTO, Bug Mars
10:55 am: Fireside chat with Salim Teja, Partner, Radical Ventures, moderated by Stephanie Hughes, Equities Reporter, Bloomberg News
11:05 AM: Panel discussion: The muse in the machine: How artists are redrawing our tech futures
As AI continues to reshape our world, artists are not just responding to new tools — they are actively influencing how those tools develop. During this session, panelists discuss how artists are harnessing AI to expand the horizons of creative expression and human perception, while also exploring alternative models of ownership and collaboration. Touching on everything from generative art and synthetic voices to ethical considerations around data, labour and intellectual property, we’ll examine how artists are both leveraging and challenging AI to ensure that human imagination, intuition and critique remain central to the evolution of this technology.
Panelists: David Usher, Musician, Author & Founder, Reimagine AI | Natalie Klym, Program Curator, BMO Lab for Creative Research in the Arts, Performance, Emerging Technologies and AI, University of Toronto | Sanaz Mazinani, Artist, Curator and Assistant Professor, University of Toronto | Stephen Marche, Author.
Moderated by: Ana Serrano, President and Vice Chancellor, OCAD University.
This event is open to:
Founders and entrepreneurs in AI and deep tech
Corporate innovation leaders and investors
AI researchers and practitioners
Students and professionals interested in AI careers
Industry partners seeking AI collaboration opportunities
Why Toronto's Discovery District: Home to Nobel Prize-winning AI research, U of T and Vector Institute's globally renowned AI expertise, the MaRS Centre and a concentration of research hospitals and innovation centres all within a 5-block radius, the Discovery District represents the intersection of academic excellence, industry innovation, and startup dynamism that makes Toronto a unique global AI hub.
Event Access: Free, open to the public
Registration is required due to limited capacity
Join us in celebrating Toronto leading deep technology startups as well as its legacy as the birthplace of modern AI. Explore how our ecosystem continues to shape the future of technology and innovation globally.