Bell Canada has entered into a partnership with Cohere to utilize artificial intelligence infrastructure, leveraging Bell AI Fabric and collaborating with two other companies. As part of the deal, Bell will provide data center capacity in Merritt, B.C., while also working with Buzz High Performance Computing, a division of Hive Digital Technologies Ltd., to establish an AI-native cloud layer using hardware cluster technology from Hypertec in Quebec and Nvidia accelerated computing for AI workloads.
Cohere, headquartered in Toronto, will leverage this platform to operate its foundational models and offer secure AI solutions for government and business clients. The four companies aim to facilitate essential research and development for AI models utilizing Canadian infrastructure.
Michel Richer, president of Bell AI Fabric, emphasized the significance of this agreement in advancing organizations from experimental stages to full-scale production on Canadian-operated infrastructure. Bell introduced Bell AI Fabric over a year ago to cater to Canadian businesses and governments, providing a range of AI services from strategy development to infrastructure deployment. The company views this initiative as the largest AI compute project in Canada.
BCE Inc., Bell’s parent company, has raised its revenue target for its AI business segment, anticipating around $2 billion in revenue from AI-powered enterprise solutions by 2028. BCE has expanded its tech services portfolio by launching Ateko and Bell Cyber last year, witnessing significant revenue growth from AI-powered solutions across these brands.
Bell and Cohere previously announced a partnership to offer comprehensive sovereign AI solutions to government and enterprise customers across Canada. This collaboration aims to simplify the adoption of AI for enterprises and governments by providing access to powerful models while ensuring data protection, security, and reliability in deploying AI technology tailored to Canadian standards.
Michael Pelosi, Cohere’s country manager for Canada, highlighted the importance of deploying advanced AI solutions that align with Canadian priorities and meet the stringent requirements of customers in the region.