AI Salon x Flagship Podcast: Live @ Mila

About this episode

The episode features a live recording discussing the rapid advancement of AI and its implications for startups and venture capital in Canada.

We closed out the year with a special live recording of the Flagship Podcast in collaboration with AI Salon at Mila, a packed evening featuring a Montréal VC panel, an AI founder roundtable, and a fireside keynote with Sam Ramadori (BrainBox AI, now co-president of Law Zero). Across all three segments, one theme dominated: AI is moving faster than any tech cycle before it, and Canada has a once-in-a-generation chance to lead. VC Panel, Navigating the AI Wave Investors from Inovia, White Star, and Amiral Ventures explored the chaos and opportunity of today's market. The AI cycle is "psychotic" in speed and scope, but the fundamentals still matter: strong teams, sticky products, real customer value. The best startups will use AI as an enabler, not the product, and differentiate through privileged data, deep domain expertise, and the ability to deliver ROI, not hype. Founder Panel, Building Real AI Companies in Montréal Budpress, Maxa, and Wrk shared candid takes from the front lines: why traditional SaaS is being rewritten, how open-source models and reasoning engines are changing the game, and why Montréal remains one of the best bases in the world for AI talent and cost-efficient…

People in this episode

Guest: Sam Ramadori

Topics covered

• AI
• venture capital
• Montréal
• technology
• startups

Keywords

• AI Salon
• Mila
• VC panel
• founder roundtable
• fireside keynote

Mentioned in this episode

Products: BrainBox AI, Law Zero

Books & works: Navigating the AI Wave Investors, Building Real AI Companies

Places: Canada, Montréal

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• New Frontier of Navigation with Tyler Reid, Co-Founder & CTO at Xona Space Systems · February 16, 2026 · 38 min
• North Star | Unicorn Panel · February 8, 2026 · 40 min
• North Star | Fireside Dax Dasilva & Fred Lalonde · February 8, 2026 · 1h 5m