Why I Founded an Independent AI Research Lab (and Gave Sherpa Away for Free)
When I started working with artificial intelligence, I quickly realized two things: first, this technology is going to change the world. Second, most of the world doesn’t have fair and equal access to it. That’s why I founded Laeka.
The Problem We’re Trying to Solve
AI is developed primarily by American giants — Google, OpenAI, Meta, Anthropic. These companies are doing incredible work, but their priorities aren’t necessarily Quebec’s priorities. The legal framework they’re building assumes US jurisdiction. The tools they’re optimizing are built for English-speaking markets first.
Meanwhile, Canadian firms are either paying premium rates to use US tools, or they’re locked out entirely because of privacy regulations.
There’s a gap. We wanted to fill it.
Why Give Sherpa Away?
Sherpa is an AI research assistant optimized for Canadian legal work. It understands Quebec law, federal law, common law provinces. It was trained on Canadian jurisprudence. It’s hosted on Canadian servers.
We could have built it as a commercial product. Charged $200/month per user. Made good money.
But that would have meant that only well-funded firms in major cities would get access. A solo practitioner in Rimouski? A small civil law clinic? They’d be priced out.
By making Sherpa free, we ensure that access to AI research tools isn’t determined by your firm’s budget. A five-lawyer firm in Laval has the same tools as a 500-lawyer firm in Montreal.
The Business Model
Laeka is an independent research lab. We’re funded by research grants, partnerships, and consulting work. Sherpa is free to use. Our research publications are freely available. Our goal isn’t to get rich — it’s to level the playing field for Canadian legal professionals.
This doesn’t mean we’re charity work. We’re building something that’s better than the commercial alternatives, at least for Canadian legal work. We’re hiring researchers, maintaining infrastructure, and continuously improving the tools.
We can do this as an independent lab because we don’t need to extract massive profit margins. We need enough funding to sustain operations and grow gradually.
The Bigger Vision
Sherpa is just the beginning. We’re also working on:
- OmniQ: an AI system for administrative law and regulatory compliance
- UAG: tools for understanding accessibility and universal design principles
- Siddhis: specialized AI for specific practice areas (immigration, family law, etc.)
All of it will be built on Canadian infrastructure. All of it will be optimized for Canadian law. And all of it will be accessible to anyone who wants to use it.
Why This Matters
The future will be shaped by whoever controls the AI tools. Right now, that’s mostly the US. But it doesn’t have to be.
Canada can build world-class AI tools. We can do it in a way that respects privacy, complies with our laws, and serves our communities — not as an afterthought, but as the foundation.
That’s what Laeka is trying to do.
