No source supports naming "the 20 best AI tools in Canada" for 2023, so this article documents something that can be checked: three well-known Canadian AI companies that were sold to larger firms. Maluuba was acquired by Microsoft in 2017, Layer 6 by TD Bank Group in 2018, and Element AI by ServiceNow in a deal that closed on January 8, 2021 for approximately USD 230 million in cash. In each case the independent product became part of a bigger company's platform, which changes what a buyer can rely on.
Key takeaways
- Microsoft announced the Maluuba acquisition on January 13, 2017, and said the team would join its AI and Research organization.
- TD announced the purchase of Layer 6 on January 9, 2018, and neither announcement gave a price.
- ServiceNow's annual report gives about USD 230 million, all cash, for Element AI Inc., subject to customary adjustments.
- A tool list from one year says little about the next, because ownership, pricing, and product lines change after an acquisition.
Why a ranked list is not attempted here
A ranking needs a stated method: what was tested, on which tasks, by whom, and when. The old page promised 20 "best" tools for 2023 without any of that. Readers in Canada who want current information are better served by dated facts about specific companies, which can be traced to a filing or an announcement. The cases below were chosen because each has a primary record and each shows a different side of what happens when a Canadian AI company changes hands.
Three acquisitions at a glance
| Company | Buyer | Announced or closed | Price in the primary record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maluuba, Montreal-based language research lab | Microsoft | Announced January 13, 2017 | Not stated in Microsoft's post |
| Layer 6, Toronto-based AI company serving financial institutions | TD Bank Group | Announced January 9, 2018 | Not stated in TD's release |
| Element AI Inc., a Canadian company | ServiceNow | Agreement November 30, 2020, closed January 8, 2021 | About USD 230 million, all cash (SEC filing) |
Maluuba: a research lab joins a platform company
On January 13, 2017, a Microsoft executive vice president wrote that the company had agreed to acquire Maluuba, a Montreal-based company with a deep learning lab focused on natural language understanding. The post named co-founders Sam Pasupalak and Kaheer Suleman, said their team would become part of Microsoft's Artificial Intelligence and Research organization, and said Yoshua Bengio, an advisor to Maluuba, would also advise Microsoft. The post framed the purchase around research on machine reading and conversational AI. It did not describe a standalone Maluuba product that customers could keep buying, and it gave no price.
Layer 6: a vendor with one very large customer
TD Bank Group's release of January 9, 2018, described Layer 6 as a Toronto-based AI company and said its founders, Tomi Poutanen and Jordan Jacobs, were also co-founders of the Vector Institute. The company's own description in the release was a prediction engine that lets a financial institution deploy machine learning on enterprise data for real-time personalization. The release said the acquisition was not expected to have a meaningful impact on TD's Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio and did not disclose the price. The release speaks only about TD's own plans and does not mention sales of the platform to outside clients.
Element AI: the documented price
ServiceNow announced on November 30, 2020, that it had signed an agreement to acquire Element AI, founded in 2016 by six people including Jean-François Gagné and Yoshua Bengio. ServiceNow said it would create an AI Innovation Hub in Canada and that Bengio would serve as a technical advisor. Its release counted Element AI as the fourth AI acquisition of 2020, after Loom Systems, Passage AI, and Sweagle. The price appears in ServiceNow's annual report for fiscal 2020, filed with the SEC: the Form 10-K states in its subsequent-events note that the company completed the acquisition on January 8, 2021, by buying all issued and outstanding shares for approximately USD 230 million, subject to customary adjustments, in an all-cash transaction.
What a buyer of AI software can take from these cases
The checklist below is general practice, not legal advice, and is not drawn from the three announcements.
- Ask who owns the vendor today and whether a change of control would alter the contract, support terms, or price.
- Check where data is stored and processed, and whether a new owner could move it or use it for other purposes.
- Find out whether the product is sold on its own or only as part of a larger platform.
- Look for the date on any "best tools" list and treat it as a snapshot, not a current ranking.
- Prefer claims that point to a filing, a regulator, or a published evaluation over claims that cite only popularity.
FAQ
Why is there no list of the best AI tools in Canada here?
A fair list would need a disclosed testing method and a current date. The sources available for this article support company histories and ownership records, not tool comparisons.
Were these companies sold because they failed?
The primary records do not say. Announcements describe strategy and talent, and the SEC filing gives only the price and closing date for Element AI. Reasons beyond that would be speculation.
Where is the Element AI price confirmed?
In ServiceNow's Form 10-K for fiscal 2020, filed with the SEC, which states approximately USD 230 million in an all-cash transaction. The company's earlier announcement did not give terms.
Does an acquisition mean the product disappears?
Not necessarily. An acquired product can continue, be merged into a platform, or be retired. The announcements reviewed here describe the strategy of the buyer and do not set out product commitments to outside customers.
Related reading
- how Canadian AI rules are shaping up
- AI companies in Canadian finance
- what AI costs a business
- AI tools used across industries
More in AI Basics.
Last verified: October 2026
Sources
- Form 10-K for fiscal year 2020 (note 20, subsequent events), ServiceNow, Inc., U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 2021
- ServiceNow to Acquire AI Pioneer Element AI, ServiceNow newsroom, November 30, 2020 (updated January 8, 2021)
- Microsoft acquires deep learning startup Maluuba, The Official Microsoft Blog, January 13, 2017
- TD Bank Group acquires artificial intelligence innovator Layer 6, TD Bank Group news release, January 9, 2018