Corning opens software innovation centre in Montreal

Corning Inc. has formally opened a research and development center in Montreal, focused on discovering and developing software solutions for the telecommunications industry.

Corning Technology Center Montreal (CNW Group/Corning Incorporated)

The Corning Technology Center Montreal will serve as Corning’s global centre of software innovation to support emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality, cloud computing, and data analytics, as well as software solutions for optical-wireless networks. Software engineers from Corning’s Research, Development and Engineering organization will collaborate with developers from iBwave Solutions, the Montreal-based provider of networking software solutions that Corning acquired in 2015.

The Montreal site joins Corning’s network of research and development laboratories throughout North America, Europe and Asia, anchored by the company’s Sullivan Park innovation center in Corning, N.Y. Over the next three to five years, Corning intends to hire software engineers, development team managers and data analysts at the Montreal center.

Work will extend Corning’s innovation capabilities beyond optical transport and connectivity

“The combination of transformative technologies and applications such as 5G, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things depends on the optical connectivity solutions made possible by Corning’s innovations,” says Claudio Mazzali, senior vice president of technology for Corning’s Optical Communications business segment. “The work that will take place here in our Montreal technology center will extend Corning’s innovation capabilities beyond optical transport and connectivity, all the way to the intelligence required to deploy and enable those applications. Montreal is emerging as a major center of software innovation, and Corning is glad to be part of it.”

The Montreal center’s initial focus will be software solutions for telecommunications networks, helping Corning’s customers unlock opportunities presented by emerging technologies. It will eventually become a hub for software innovation across all of Corning’s business segments.

“In addition to the immediate and near-term applications in Optical Communications systems, what is also very exciting to me about Corning Technology Center Montreal is how these new capabilities in software, artificial intelligence and machine learning will support a corporate strategic initiative in materials and process informatics and modeling across our technologies and businesses,” said David Morse, Corning executive vice president and chief technology officer. “I am delighted to welcome the CTCM team to Corning’s global network of technology centers.”

Corning Technology Center Montreal will build ties to the region’s software-innovation community through membership in IVADO, the Montreal-based research institute for data science, operational research, and artificial intelligence.

“Our data science ecosystem will greatly benefit from collaborative projects with the Corning Technology Center Montreal, bridging academic expertise and business needs,” said Gilles Savard, chief executive officer of IVADO. “We are thrilled to welcome Corning as our newest IVADO member and look forward to working together on developing innovative digital solutions for the telecommunications industry.”