University of Toronto alumnus Abraham Heifets (PhD 2014) has spent the past seven years channeling his love of science and a desire to impact the world into Atomwise, a company that is applying the latest advances in neural networks to make better drugs faster.

He credits his graduate school experience as a remarkably good training ground for launching a startup. “As a scientist, especially a grad student, you have to figure out how to be scrappy and to answer a question,” said Heifets. “That is what a startup is. You have a whole series of hypotheses, and you have to run a whole series of experiments to prove or disprove them, iterate and do it again. As a scientist, the mental process is exactly the same.”

A University of Toronto legal startup that uses artificial intelligence to predict the outcomes of tax and employment law cases has raised US$7 million in financing – money that will be used to fund a U.S. expansion.

Co-founded by three members of U of T’s Faculty of Law, Blue J Legal said today the financing round will allow the company to “establish a foothold” in the huge U.S. legal market while enhancing its existing products and growing its 30-person team.

The financing was led by Toronto’s Relay Ventures and included participation from Silicon Valley’s LDV Partners. Existing investors Mistral Venture Partners and BDC Capital were also part of the financing round.

LinkMentalHealth and the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) announce their strategic partnership to connect students to diverse in-person therapy options.

Over 50,000 students at U of T will now have direct access to affordable and practical mental health solutions in their area. often covered in full by their UTSU health coverage.

Students can now see the coverage they receive through their UTSU health insurance plan on the LinkMe platform. Many have successfully used the platform to find a therapist they need, with this strategic partnership serving to help inform students about LinkMe and available therapists in the Toronto and Mississauga areas.