Prologue.ai is the latest artificial intelligence (AI) startup to set up shop in Montreal.

The new Quebec company was co-founded by former Bleublancrouge partner and ECD Jonathan Rouxel and AI expert Edouard Ferron-Mallett (left). Rouxel officially exited Bleublancrouge in December after more than four years with the Montreal agency to focus on this new venture. Ferron-Mallett, Prologue.ai’s AI strategist, was previously the co-founder and CEO of Mr. Young, a conversational AI tool that aimed to help people with anxiety.

Canada – Toronto and Montreal in particular – has become a hotbed of AI in recent years, both via startups and established companies like Microsoft and RBC. And firms like Prologue.ai, which specifically serve the advertising world, have sprouted up in a bid to help marketing clients navigate our increasingly AI-driven world. More traditional agencies – like the one Rouxel comes from – have been getting in on the action as well: Havas opened an AI research centre in Montreal last year, while others have been making hires and establishing partnerships  with an eye towards AI.

The new kid on the AI block in La Belle Province aims to create AI-driven digital experiences for brands, built around the idea of making them more emotionally resonant with consumers.

“When we put ourselves in consumers’ shoes and try to connect to AI applications for the public, they all seem to have been designed by laboratory rats who have lost their empathy for generations,” said Rouxel, Prologue.AI’s CD, in a press release (right). “Our vision is to add emotional intelligence to these experiences, create excitement and engineer goosebumps in order to more meaningfully really connect users and brands. This is our reason for being.”

The start-up, which launched in February, is still working on finalizing its team and partnerships, according to a press release.

[iframe_youtube video = “Bu4MIc1-cAI”]