Canada’s push to build world-class AI companies is getting a boost from some of the most experienced researchers in the field.
Toronto-based venture studio AXL has unveiled its inaugural cohort of Faculty Fellows, bringing together nine University of Toronto professors with deep experience across organizations like NVIDIA, Samsung, Adobe, NASA, and the University Health Network.
The move signals a growing shift in how AI startups are built—and where talent sits at the centre of that equation.
At a time when demand for AI expertise continues to outpace supply, AXL is embedding top-tier researchers directly into the venture creation process. The Fellows will act as scientific advisors and mentors, helping startups navigate everything from early-stage validation to real-world deployment challenges.
That includes addressing one of the biggest talent gaps in AI today: translating breakthrough research into scalable, production-ready systems.
“Building an AI model is only the first step,” said Gennady Pekhimenko, a Faculty Fellow and Senior Director of AI Software at NVIDIA. “The real challenge begins when companies try to deploy and scale those systems in production.”
Pekhimenko is among the standout names in the cohort, having previously founded CentML—acquired by NVIDIA in 2025—and worked at Microsoft and the Vector Institute.
He’s joined by a cross-disciplinary group of experts spanning computer science, computational health, and AI systems, including Adobe research scientist Alec Jacobson, CHAI Lab lead Alex Mariakakis, and former Samsung AI research lead Sven Dickinson.
For Techtalent.ca readers, the announcement highlights a broader trend reshaping Canada’s tech workforce: the convergence of academia and industry as a core talent strategy.
Rather than hiring researchers after companies are built, AXL is integrating them at inception—giving startups access to decades of experience in areas like machine learning infrastructure, human-computer interaction, and applied AI systems.
This approach is designed to help Canada compete globally, not just in producing AI research, but in commercializing it.
“Building great AI companies requires scientific credibility,” said AXL Co-Founder and CEO Daniel Wigdor.
AXL’s leadership team reflects that same hybrid model. Wigdor previously led design work on Microsoft Surface and oversaw AI systems at Meta’s Reality Labs, while Chief Scientist Tovi Grossman brings experience from Autodesk and holds more than 100 patents in human-computer interaction.
For Canada’s talent ecosystem, the implications are clear: the next generation of AI jobs won’t just be about coding models—they’ll require deep collaboration between researchers, engineers, and founders from day one.
As venture studios like AXL double down on this model, the competition for elite AI talent—and the structures built to support it—are becoming just as important as capital in determining where the next wave of global AI companies will emerge.