Murtaza Saadat

We’re excited to announce that Erode AI will have a booth at this year’s Innovation Week 2024: Startup Studio Station in Calgary! Last year, we had an incredible time engaging with the community, sharing ideas, and learning from others who are passionate about innovation. This year, we’re bringing even more to the table. Erode AI is revolutionizing weather forecasting with cutting-edge generative AI technology, and we’re excited to show you how far we’ve come. Whether you’re in energy, agtech, insurance, or curious about the future of weather forecasting and weather-derived outcomes we’d love for you to stop by! 👥 Let’s talk about the challenges you face in your industry and how hyper-focused, AI-driven forecasting can help you solve them. 📅 Save the Date: 👉 When: November 20, 10am - 3pm 👉 Where: Platform Calgary #InnovationWeek2024 #GenerativeAI #WeatherForecasting #YYCInnovation #ErodeAI #Startups #FutureOfForecasting

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Introducing Vivek Chandra B.Tech, MBA, ventureLAB's Executive in Residence! He is dedicated to empowering startups and guiding them towards their customer journeys. Learn more about his role in the next video. #techadvisor #techexpert #yrtech #torontoTech #startup

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A must watch. for any Front End developer. a simple structure that reconstructs how Css operates within your mind. Allowing our approach to me more intentional instead of arbitrary and filled with hope. https://lnkd.in/dE3dbRDj

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The 3 top secrets about SR&ED If you’re a founder in the Canadian tech space - this snippet is for you! 1. In 2019, SR&ED provided >$3 billion in tax incentives to over 20,000 businesses. A quick 1-liner on SR&ED: It is the single largest federal program to support R&D in businesses in Canada. 2. 80% of SR&ED claims were received by companies with <100 employees I really want to hammer this home 2% of claims came from Solopreneurs Since this is from 2019, I fully expect this number to be higher for 2023-2024 57% were for companies with 1 to 19 employees…again based on 2019 data The takeaway - You might be small But you’re a powerhouse of innovation 3. You had an innovative-as-heck idea, spent time and experimented on it; but it failed You can still claim SR&ED on it. I LOVE this because it is the correct long term approach. Be rewarded for your innovative attempt, not its outcome. — Like this snippet? Please let me know what you thought in the comments below. Also, follow me for more insights. Want to get started with SR&ED for your business? Drop me a note for a no-obligations consultation.

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📊 Friday in Charts - Top Startup Cities in the World 📈 Interesting to see the top startup cities globally, but I'm left wondering—where are Toronto/Waterloo on this list? 🤔 #Startups #TechEcosystem #Innovation #Toronto #Waterloo #fridaycharts

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Summer is upon us in Montreal! I'm still absorbing the GPT 4o and Apple Intents videos .... I am doing re-factoring and re-design work on the runtime (conversation engine). Output pipeline work (TTS and audio output). I have a new feature in mind. Allen S. Firstenberg ,Mike Bird, Michael Novak Hopefully a demo in early to mid July. I'll figure out Zoom audio :-) Work begins with planning, mostly on paper, a set of scenarios: conservative; average; science fiction. - Conservative scenarios tend to be the basis of unit tests. In general, quick tests to get the ball rolling and making sure it doesn't go in the gutter. - Science fiction asks the question : what do I need, or keep in mind, in order to build a particular wiz bang feature? - Average tends to form the basis of audio tests. Audio tests quickly indicate if something is going wrong. (Cathy Pearl, Saul Albert, Elizabeth Stokoe ) The insights and techniques from Montréal-Python "Pardon the Interruption" and "Renovating a Fixer-Upper" (LibCST) talks will join hands: (Mélanie Guérin, Yannick Gingras, Van Duc Nguyen) I am always thankful Montréal-Python has given me a platform to share knowledge! I'll be in a position to take a "script" written a CA annotated style, generate Python code (to simulate a human user) and drive it against the engine. How well does the engine handle a user that is slow? Has an accent? Changes their mind? I am making the assumption I do not have the expertise, tools and resources to train or fine-tune an ASR model. I have to pull tricks in other parts of the ASR -> NLU -> FULFILL -> NLG -> TTS pipeline. On deck (mid-July): Input pipeline work involving voice-activity detection (Silero) and Whisper. I also want to make a decision soon on the use of a SLM (small language model) and or grand-father transformer (i.e., T5, BERT). #voicefirst #voicelunch

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The Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax incentive is one of Canada's most powerful tools for fostering tech innovation - enabling businesses to recoup up to 65% of their R&D salary costs. Here's the troubling reality though: While this program distributes ~$4B annually to 20,000 businesses, an unnecessary "SR&ED consulting industry" has emerged that extracts $400M-800M from these funds. Why? These consultants capitalize on companies' fears about complex paperwork, despite the fact that 94% of SR&ED applications are approved. They charge 10-20% of the tax credit simply to complete forms. Let that sink in: Nearly a billion dollars meant for Canadian innovation is instead diverted to middlemen who add minimal value. At Publicus, we're passionate about streamlining government processes through automation. While SR&ED reform isn't our current focus, we believe in raising awareness about the systemic, government-related inefficiencies that hold back Canadian tech companies. #CanadaTech #GovTech #Grants #Innovation

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One of the least talked about issues about the Vancouver startup ecosystem is the illegal eviction rate and how unaffordable it is to live. Many founders are looking elsewhere, and this nonsense is a big reason why: 'B.C. has the highest eviction rate in the country with 10.5 per cent of renter households having reported being forced to move between April 2016 to early 2021, compared to 5.9 per cent nationally.' - keeping in mind that a significant number of evictions aren't even reported. The entire system is still done on paper. https://lnkd.in/gCrQjhM7

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A clubhouse for ambitious Builders, Creators, Entrepreneurs. House 831 🏡 Curated membership, exclusive member-only perks, fireside chats, mastermind sessions, and co-working coffee shop style. Located in the heart of 17th ave. The big unlock with House 831 is the intersection of Creatives and Tech. People like Ralph Sadowski (Shopify, Uber, Neo) colliding with Scott Bakken (Content creator, Community builder and 750K+ across Insta/TikTok) 💪 It's where the kernels of the best companies in Calgary will come from. A house of learnings, good conversation, curiosity, creativity and hard work. It's important to note that the co-working aspect is "co-working, coffee shop style". We have limited desk space. Only 10 tables for 50 members. But that's ok. House 831 isn't meant to be a place to do an 8 hour day of laptop work. It's a space to drop-in for a mind-meld session, record a podcast in the studio, grab a coffee, and get exclusive access to events. ☕ 🎙 🧠 Some events will be curated, but open to the broader community (like Katherine, Nina, Nyle and Philippe's Run Club) 🏃‍♂️ Some events will be Members or Members +1 only. Intimate lunches, off-the-record fireside chats and backyard concerts. Members can host their own events too. After all, this is your house. 🔥 Want to be a House 831 member? Apply through the link in the comments 👇 This is Calgary 2.0. Long Calgary 🚀 https://lnkd.in/gCR8bR-h

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I’m an introvert, how do I network? I'm going to Launch Party, the ultimate celebration of Calgary’s most promising Tech Startups and the grand finale of Innovation Week YYC 2024. It's going to be an awesome way to meet fellow entrepreneurs and tech enthusiasts including the Top 10 Selection Committee of Haley Jabusch, ✨Joella A. , and Matt Elliott. But when you walk into a conference room full of people, it can be intimidating. Here's what I do... I’m an introvert, how do I network? Introverts (like me) have an advantage in networking because we naturally have the right skills. We’re good listeners, we remember details, we ask good questions, and follow-up. What’s the best way to network at a conference? In short, be prepared. Before the event, find out who’s going, ask your friends, look up the sponsor companies, use LinkedIn to make connections. Then arrange a meet and chat one of the presentation topics - it’s easy to connect over an interesting topic. How do I introduce myself? First, learn about the other person. What are they working on? What are their goals for this year? Now you can relate what you do to what they do. Here’s a framework: “We help (customer) + (with problem) + so they can (benefits)” E.g. “We help founders simplify technology complexity so they can grow revenue”. 👋 Come say "Hi!" and let's have a fun conversation! What's your networking tip? Share below! Want to know more? 🛫 Follow me for Insights on scaling your business. 👟 Make better software decisions, faster. Get my Software Assessment Playbook. Send me a DM. #Innovation #Management #Technology

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🚀 Excited to share the first of the series of my musings on the evaluation of Large Language Models (LLMs) on Substack! Delve into methodologies, challenges, and future directions for assessing these powerful tools. Starting with an overview of LLM evaluation as part 1. 🔍 Whether you're a researcher, practitioner, or just curious about the advancements in AI like me, I hope you find the insights here: https://lnkd.in/gx5bwDgb Feel free to comment or reach out if you have thoughts or questions—I’d love to hear from you! #AIForEngineers #AI #MachineLearning #LLM #ArtificialIntelligence #TechResearch #WomenInTech #TrustInLLMs 👉 Read and subscribe at

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When I ask ChatGPT to create a picture of me, and it captures my passions and personality even more than I know myself! #AI #CreativeTech #PersonalGrowth #Innovation #Toronto #DigitalArt #PassionDriven #ChatGPT

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Want a 🍁 national video game development competition in Canada? All I need is for you to write a short letter of support for the idea! Tell us about why you want it: - 👩‍🎓 A chance for students to show their talent? - 🎮 Highlight what our industry can do? - 🎥 Give some credentials and media to hot new talent? - 💼 Help connect students and industry? - 💻 Something else? Write your 📧 letter of support to [email protected] so we can convince Skills Canada to add this new category to the national competition! Need an example to get you started? Just ask!

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🌟 Personal Reflection on Recent Developments 🌟 As we navigate the ups and downs of the startup journey, I want to take a moment to reflect on our recent experience with the Startup TNT SummitX. While we won’t be moving forward to the next rounds, I see this as a testament to our strength and resilience at Credwise Financial Inc. It’s no surprise that shaking up the Canadian financial landscape can make some investors a bit hesitant. Change is never easy, but it’s precisely what we’re here to accomplish! No wonder Canada is lagging behind the United States, U.K., and India when it comes to open banking—embracing innovation is crucial for progress! A heartfelt thank you to the Startup TNT team, the investors, and Edmonton Unlimited for your support and guidance throughout this process. Your efforts have been instrumental in our journey, and we truly appreciate it. I’m also immensely grateful for our dedicated team, mentors, and supporters who have poured their energy and passion into our mission. Your unwavering commitment inspires me every day! Looking ahead, we have exciting opportunities on the horizon, including our participation in the Plug and Play Summit this November and the launch of our app in October. I’m eager to connect with venture firms that share our vision for innovation in Fintech. Together, we will continue to push boundaries and emerge even stronger! 💪 #Credwise #StartupTNT #Fintech #Innovation #StrongerTogether Alberta Innovates. Plug and Play Fintech, Visa. Mastercard, RBCx, Fintech Cadence, Atlantic Fintech, Google for Startups, Alberta Technology and Innovation, Alberta Catalyzer, Zack Storms, MNP, KPMG, Deloitte. Deloitte Consulting. McKinsey & Company, Bain & Company, Weave VC

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