Press Conference with AHOY Co-founder and CEO Jamil Shinawi

Ahoy Charts New Course: Montreal HQ, Mila Partnership, and Democratized Physical AI

Ahoy, a company pioneering physical AI since 2018, announced significant strategic developments, including establishing its North American headquarters in Montreal. Mr. Shinawi, CEO and founder, highlighted Ahoy’s focus on “physical AI in the macro sense,” emphasizing real-world interactions. The company has achieved remarkable growth, expanding 330-fold in five years, demonstrating its increasing influence in the AI sector.

Montreal was chosen for its new headquarters due to its robust educational system, talent pool, and supportive AI ecosystem, with government backing. Mr. El-Barachi, Ahoy’s Chief Sales Officer, stressed the goal of democratized AI access, free from political or commercial biases. Ahoy, initially based in Dubai, reported profitability by 2023, with revenue reaching $100 million by the end of 2025.

A pivotal announcement is Ahoy’s partnership with Mila, a leading AI research lab in Montreal. This collaboration will drive research in physical AI, integrating vision, audio, and sensor data. Ahoy will establish a physical presence at Mila and launch an open physical AI lab in Montreal. This lab will foster collaborative building without vendor lock-in, focusing on on-chip inferencing, air-gapped systems, on-prem deployments, and edge orchestration.

This initiative aims to reduce the data lifecycle to milliseconds, enabling real-time, decentralized decision-making vital for critical and autonomous operations, minimizing cloud dependence. Mr. Shinawi underscored that physical AI represents the greatest value in intelligence, bridging the gap between AI inferencing and practical execution across diverse industries.

Ahoy also announced the acquisition of Work.com, co-founded by Mr. El-Barachi, to bolster its global strategy and expand market offerings. This acquisition will complement Ahoy’s solutions and open new market segments, reinforcing the company’s role in pioneering the physical AI domain.

The company introduced the “Ahoy Perception Suite,” its latest product. This suite enables organizations and smart cities to leverage existing infrastructure for real-time perception data, facilitating immediate decisions on various devices. It operates agnostic of hardware, and is readily deployable, secure, scalable, contextually aware, and sovereign by design.

New leadership appointments include Dr. Hood as Chief Scientist and Dr. Benoit as Chief Technologist, both leading R&D from Montreal. Dr. Benoit is a former student of Joshua Benjio. Mr. El-Barachi addressed Canadian skepticism towards AI, advocating for better education and democratized access to empower citizens and restore Canada’s leadership in AI innovation.

Ahoy’s journey, including two years without revenue, demonstrates its deep conviction and purpose-driven approach. The company encourages competition, believing it enhances market quality, and aims to deploy physical AI solutions globally across diverse industries. Mr. Shinawi also shared a personal health transformation story, crediting technology and sensor readings, illustrating AI’s potential in personalized healthcare.