AXL Labs

Our Labs team empowers AXL’s ventures with innovative, scalable software solutions that deliver exceptional experiences through human-centered AI.

What We Do
Human-centric AI Expertise
AXL Labs experts conduct internal research including deep needs analysis of partner problems and problem space definition.
Design & Development
World-class research, development, and design teams envision, prototype, build, and test solutions.
Concept Commercialization
From 0 to 1, we turn opportunities and research breakthroughs into real-world products and ventures.
SRIC Building University of Toronto
An Epicentre of AI Innovation
The Academic Advantage
The U of T Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus. Photo courtesy of WEISS/MANFREDI, photograph by Albert Vecerka.

Canada is a world leader in AI and HCI research, but the country has a “commercialization gap” when it comes to bringing these breakthroughs to market.

AXL was created to close this gap. We launch human-centric AI companies by combining validated industry problems from corporate partners with world-class talent and a research pipeline from leading universities.

Our deep integration with the academic ecosystem provides our ventures with an unfair advantage:

Leveraging the Academic Ecosystem

01

World-Leading Talent

AXL is co-founded and led by University of Toronto computer science professors and world-leading HCI/AI researchers, including Dr. Daniel Wigdor and Dr. Tovi Grossman who together hold 160+ patents, and have a combined 30,000+ citations.

02

Physical Hub

AXL is strategically located at the Schwartz-Reisman Innovation Campus (SRIC) at the University of Toronto, co-located with the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence and the U of T Computer Science Department. This positions us at the epicentre of Canadian AI innovation.

03

Research Pipeline

Our unique venture model integrates access to research from leading universities with market insights from Canada’s top businesses through the AI Catalyst program. This ensures every company we launch is rooted in validated industry demand and built atop next-generation technology.

04

Faculty Fellows

The Faculty Fellow program ensures that ventures are informed by leading academic research and real-world impact. Fellows, comprised of forward-thinking university researchers, mentor our co-founders, participate directly in business formation and opportunity reviews, and engage with top corporate partners and CEOs/CTOs at our State of AI Summits.

05

Developing Future Leaders

AXL Labs actively engages top academic talent, including from the globally-ranked University of Toronto MScAC program and University of Waterloo’s world-leading co-op program, to work hands-on in prototyping and application development, bridging the gap between academia and product innovation.

A World-Leading Team

Meet the research, design, and development team behind AXL Labs.

Meet the Team