MONTREAL, July 11, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Galilei, a new company of Concordia University, announces the
creation of XR:MTL, an Innovation Factory focused on XR technologies. Hosted at Concordia University, this initiative is co-founded
by Galilei, which will manage the operations of the Factory, and Ubisoft, the world-leading creator and developer of interactive
entertainment.
The Factory’s focus will be on developing applications that have clear market potential. It will bring together
corporations, academia and startups to catalyze and accelerate open and commercially targeted innovation, including the creation of
new ventures and novel experiences across industries. This will be achieved through joint development projects, product piloting
partnerships, and knowledge sharing activities.
“A new and more mature wave of experiences is emerging. XR technology will find its way into our everyday lives
and impact the future of work in many industries. Montreal’s combination of world-class research, technical and creative talent
positions us to become a global leader for XR”, said Stéphane Marceau, CEO of Galilei.
Ubisoft is creating “L’Atelier XR”, a space inside the Factory aimed at collaborating with the Montreal XR
ecosystem. “Ubisoft has been investing in Virtual Reality for several years and has emerged as a world leader in the field of XR
entertainment. We have developed and championed core technological advancements to bring XR closer to the public. For Ubisoft,
XR:MTL represents a great platform to build new services and commercial applications, to extend our XR talent base and
capabilities, as well as to build a new network of innovation driven partners”, said Deborah Papiernik, Vice-President, New
Business at Ubisoft.
“We have been working for years with the VR technology as it evolved. We feel it is now the best time to create
the future of Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality, in concert with Montreal’s emerging and talented community”, said Olivier
Palmieri, Game Director at Ubisoft, and Director of L’Atelier XR.
XR:MTL has established global partnerships including Oculus, Montreal-based entertainment tech leaders; D-BOX
(TSE:DBO) and Triotech, as well as several hand-picked startups including Aperium, Ova, The Phenomena, VRTracker and Pixelbug.
Solutions and experiences developed will span multiple sectors that leverage XR technologies, including the entertainment,
healthcare, aerospace, education and other industries.
To further XR:MTL’s mission for open innovation, a partnership with Prompt Quebec - a non-profit consortium that
facilitates collaboration and financing between businesses and the public research sector - has also been formed to support
projects enabling the future of XR on 5G networks.
About Galilei: The Open Innovation Company. We create innovation collisions between
corporations, startups and academia. We build communities and open platforms where innovators converge to produce disruptive market
innovation. These orchestrated collisions lead to the creation of disruptive ventures, breakthrough products and applied market
innovations. The Galilei team is comprised of former Tech Founders & CEOs, Community developers, Corporate Innovation
Executives and Tech investors. Galilei is a Concordia University Company.
About Ubisoft: Ubisoft is a leading creator, publisher and distributor of interactive
entertainment and services, with a rich portfolio of world-renowned brands, including Assassin’s Creed, Just Dance, Watch_Dogs, Tom
Clancy’s video game series, Rayman and Far Cry. The teams throughout Ubisoft’s worldwide network of studios and business offices
are committed to delivering original and memorable gaming experiences across all popular platforms, including consoles, mobile
phones, tablets and PCs. For the 2017-18 fiscal year Ubisoft generated sales of €1,732 million. To learn more, please visit
www.ubisoftgroup.com.
For further information:
Galilei:
James Pearson
Corporate Partnerships
media@galilei.ca
Ubisoft:
Jeanne Le Cours-Hébert
Conseillère, Communications externes
(514) 490-2000 ext. 8315
jeanne.le-cours-hebert@ubisoft.com