A new chapter of scientific leadership opens for the Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute

MONTREAL, Sept. 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ - Mila, the Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute, announces the appointment of Hugo Larochelle—Adjunct Professor at the Université de Montréal and former head of Google's AI research lab in Montreal—to the position of Scientific Director. He officially assumes his duties on September 2, succeeding Laurent Charlin, who had been acting in that capacity since Yoshua Bengio transitioned to the role of founder and Scientific Advisor of Mila.

Hugo Larochelle is a pioneer in deep learning and one of Canada's most respected researchers. He brings a unique understanding of both the workings of major corporate research laboratories and the excellence of the country's academic AI community.

"I take on my responsibilities today with deep enthusiasm and a sense of duty as Scientific Director of Mila. Our institute is recognized worldwide and is envied by other ecosystems thanks to the quality of our talent and the projects we pursue. As the field of AI evolves at an unprecedented pace, the work carried out at Mila paves the way for major scientific breakthroughs while making a positive contribution to society. I look forward to collaborating with our world–renowned researchers to write the next chapter of artificial intelligence in Quebec and Canada," said Professor Larochelle.

"Hugo Larochelle perfectly embodies the alliance between scientific excellence and a nuanced understanding of major global technological issues," says Valérie Pisano, President and CEO of Mila. "After nearly ten years spent at some of the world's largest technology companies, he takes the scientific helm of our institute at a pivotal moment. Canada is currently in a strategic position, and Mila, as one of the most influential institutions in this field in the country, plays a crucial role. Professor Larochelle's vision—deeply rooted here yet resolutely focused on current challenges and opportunities—will help guide Mila with ambition and responsibility."

A leading researcher

Hugo Larochelle is among the most influential figures in artificial intelligence in Canada. Trained at the Université de Montréal under the supervision of Yoshua Bengio and later as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Toronto under Geoffrey Hinton, he has made significant contributions to the advancement of deep learning while remaining committed to rigorous, open and socially beneficial science.

Throughout his career, Hugo Larochelle has made several significant contributions that are now integrated into modern AI systems. In particular, he played a key role in popularizing autoregressive modelling with neural networks, a paradigm that is now central to generative AI. He then transferred his academic expertise to industrial innovation by co–founding the startup Whetlab, which was acquired by Twitter in 2015. After a stint at Twitter Cortex, he was recruited to lead Google's AI research lab in Montreal (Google Brain), which is now part of Google DeepMind. In addition to his corporate roles, he continues his commitment to the next generation as an Adjunct Professor at the Université de Montréal, where he supervises and inspires emerging AI researchers.

"Hugo is an exceptional researcher, recognized by his peers for the quality and breadth of his work. His impact is tangible, both in the world of open–source research and in the major technology organizations where he has helped advance the field. He has the rigour, creativity and vision needed to meet Mila's scientific ambitions and accompany its growth. Our collaboration goes back more than 20 years, and I am delighted to see it continue in a new form," concludes Yoshua Bengio, founder of Mila, full professor at the Université de Montréal, Co–Chair and Scientific Director of LawZero.

As Scientific Director of Mila, Professor Larochelle will chair the institute's Scientific Council and ensure the strategic orientation of its research activities.

His appointment results from a rigorous selection process led by a committee whose seven members were appointed by Mila's Board of Directors and Scientific Council.

Full biography and portrait of Hugo Larochelle: available here.

About Mila – Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute

Founded by Professor Yoshua Bengio of the Université de Montréal, Mila is the world's largest academic research center for deep learning, bringing together over 1,500 specialized researchers in machine learning. Based in Montreal and funded in part by the Government of Canada through the Pan-Canadian AI Strategy, Mila's mission is to be a global center for scientific advancements that inspire innovation and the growth of AI for the benefit of all. Mila is a globally recognized non-profit organization for its significant contributions to deep learning, especially in the fields of language modeling, automatic translation, object recognition, and generative models. For more information, visit mila.quebec.

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SOURCE Mila - Quebec AI Institute