Google Acquihires Granata Decision Systems

The founders of Granata Decision Systems, a graduate of the University of Toronto Early-Stage Technology startup incubator program, have joined Google.

Dr. Craig Boutilier, a professor in U of T’s Department of Computer Science, and Tyler Lu, a graduating PhD student in the same department, co-founded Granata Decision Systems in 2012 to develop their advanced decision-support technologies.

“This is a significant milestone for the UTEST program and the wider MaRS Innovation portfolio,” said Dr. Raphael Hofstein, CEO of MaRS Innovation. “We co-created the UTEST program with U of T to foster entrepreneurship in a meaningful way while encouraging students and professors to translate their academic ideas into commercial realities.”

Granata’s software platform provided real-time optimization and scenario analysis capabilities for large-scale, data-driven marketing problems and group/organizational decision-making.

“Craig and Tyler’s success is an excellent example of what can be achieved when innovative ideas are transformed into reality by the kind of support UTEST provides during critical early stages of development,” said Dr. Peter Lewis, interim vice-president of Research ad U of T. “We’re thrilled to see them take their next steps with Google.”

The company was part of the UTEST program’s first cohort.