I wish I could say that the reason behind TandemLaunch being located in Montreal was a strategic business decision due to an early understanding of the city´s technical future, but the truth is that it was just a happy coincidence. My wife has a strong will and she wanted to settle down in Montreal and so we did. Regardless, operating in a technical hub carries a huge advantage, especially when growing startups. When I founded TandemLaunch, artificial intelligence was basically unheard of, but it has been interesting to see Montreal bloom into the rich artificial intelligence ecosystem it is today. There are a lot of investment opportunities and Montreal is within close proximity to top universities and major tech players.

Thanks to the growing startup ecosystem in Montreal, it has been pleasant and easy to attract talent to come and join TandemLaunch and our existing community. Montreal used to fly under the radar, but as of late the city’s tech startup ecosystem is starting to create an impact internationally, which drew a lot of attention. In return, big players in the market have opened up offices and research labs right here in Montreal and the impact has been phenomenal. The government is putting its attention into helping entrepreneurs and investors are now looking at Montreal to see what startups are being produced in the city.

“I BELIEVE MONTREAL HAS A STRONG TECHNICAL COMMUNITY THAT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE A DOMINANT WORLD PLAYER IN THE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ECOSYSTEM FOR YEARS TO COME”– HELGE SEETZEN – CEO AND FOUNDER OF TANDEMLAUNCH

Helge Seetzen is the CEO and Founder of TandemLaunch – an organization turning research from the world’s best universities into exceptional consumer technology companies. Helge is also an award-winning technologist, entrepreneur, and recognized global authority on technology transfer and display technologies.

His past successes include the transformation of university intellectual property into fully commercialized LED TV technology, including selling his last company – Brightside Technologies – to Dolby Laboratories after landing partnerships with several of the largest consumer electronics companies in the world. Helge holds over 60 patents in the fields of display, camera, and video technology.

At TandemLaunch, we value the cultural diversity of Montreal since we are domain-based and not geography-specific, meaning that we work with smart people wherever they come from. It´s satisfying to know that when we bring foreign entrepreneurs to Canada that they will have some quality of life here and even benefit from some of our cost advantages.

The actual location is also a benefit because we work with people from Europe, South America, and Asia on a regular basis, and North America acts as a great central point to all of these locations. Montreal has a strong technological community that is benefitting in a creative sense and the city carries a lot of engineering capabilities for continuous growth of the ecosystem. I’m proud to say I am helping to shape this growing community and to be a part of it!