Hi Nathan,

This is a great question and important point for clarification. We recognize that strong startup ecosystems can be characterized by a collaborative nature — startups helping startups — and that this can be coined organic fellowship. In this article we refer to these terms in the context of Montreal’s approach to AI research. Institutes like MILA, and startups like Element AI, facilitate academic/researcher collaboration with industry in a way that makes AI talent and science accessible to many. While other cities may also protect open science, by keeping research accessible to all via publishing platforms like arXiv.org, and providing researchers the opportunity to pursue both academic and industry projects, Montreal’s long history of AI research makes this non-predatory model particularly noteworthy.