Mr. Michel Richer reports

BELL AND MILA JOIN FORCES TO DRIVE AI INNOVATION IN THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS SECTOR

Mila and BCE Inc.'s Bell have entered a new partnership to develop cutting-edge artificial-intelligence solutions. This collaboration is driven by a shared vision to enhance customer experience, optimize business operations and cultivate a vibrant AI ecosystem within Quebec and across Canada.

In line with Bell's significant investments in AI, this partnership reinforces Bell's transformation as a technology services leader, harnessing Mila's groundbreaking research to drive transformative improvements across Bell's operations. From data analysis and operational efficiency to Internet-based applications, Mila's expertise will accelerate advancements that will enhance the customer experience.

This announcement builds on the 18-month collaborative project Mila and Bell entered into earlier this year to apply deep-learning neural network algorithms to Bell's environment. This technique leverages the transformative power of AI deep learning to teach computers how to process information in a manner inspired by the human brain.

By working more closely with Mila, Bell will continue to champion the exploration of emerging technologies, leveraging Mila's cutting-edge research and intellectual leadership, collaborating with emerging AI innovators and engaging in scientific discussions. The expertise gained from applying AI within Bell's operations will be leveraged to empower the entire Canadian business community.

With Mila headquartered in Montreal, Bell will continue developing the city as a key centre for innovation, which includes recently purchased Montreal-based FX Innovation, a leading expert of cloud-focused managed and professional services and workflow automation solutions, and the technology development team at Bell behind award-winning apps, such as MyBell.

Quotes

"Mila is very pleased to welcome Bell into its partnership community. We look forward to working with the Bell team to explore AI solutions for their business processes and to draw key learnings that can benefit organizations across Canada and their customers," commented Stephane Letourneau, executive vice-president of Mila.

"Our new partnership with Mila will strengthen Bell's position as an AI leader, enabling us to leverage the world-class institute's cutting-edge research to drive improvements across customer experience, operations, data analysis and Internet-based applications. The experience and knowledge we gain from this relationship will help us support our customers better, while furthering Bell's position as a technology services leader," commented Michel Richer, senior vice-president, enterprise solutions, data engineering and AI, Bell Canada.

About Mila

Founded by Yoshua Bengio of the University of Montreal, Mila is the world's largest academic research centre for deep learning, bringing together over 1,200 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 centre 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 modelling, automatic translation, object recognition and generative models.

About Bell

Bell is Canada's largest communications company, providing advanced broadband Internet, wireless, television, media and business communication services. Founded in Montreal in 1880, Bell is wholly owned by BCE.

Through Bell for Better, the company is investing to create a better today and a better tomorrow by supporting the social and economic prosperity of its communities. This includes the Bell Let's Talk initiative, which promotes Canadian mental health with national awareness and anti-stigma campaigns like Bell Let's Talk Day and significant Bell financing of community care and access, research, and workplace initiatives throughout the country.