Bell, Cohere strike Canadian AI infrastructure deal

Bell, Cohere, Hypertec and BUZZ HPC have agreed an AI infrastructure deal in Canada centred on running Cohere's large language models on Bell AI Fabric.

Under the arrangement, Bell will provide data centre capacity and connectivity from its Merritt, British Columbia, site, while BUZZ HPC will supply the cloud compute layer using Hypertec hardware and NVIDIA systems.

The deal connects several parts of Canada's domestic AI supply chain at a time when businesses and public-sector bodies are weighing where their data sits and which jurisdiction governs the systems they use. It also gives Bell's AI infrastructure project a prominent customer in Cohere, one of the country's best-known AI model developers.

Bell said the Merritt facility was built for advanced AI workloads. Cohere will use the platform to run its foundation models and support customers in government and enterprise markets.

BUZZ HPC, a subsidiary of Hive Digital Technologies, will provide the GPU-based computing layer, while Hypertec will contribute server hardware manufactured in Canada.

The arrangement builds on existing ties among the companies and adds to a broader push by Canadian technology groups to keep more AI development and deployment on domestic infrastructure. The issue has gained prominence as organisations move beyond pilot projects and begin putting AI tools into regular use.

Sovereign focus

The companies framed the agreement around sovereign AI, a term increasingly used to describe AI systems developed or run under national control over infrastructure, data handling and operations. In Canada, the debate has focused on whether local companies and institutions have enough domestic compute capacity to avoid relying entirely on foreign cloud providers.

Bell has been positioning AI Fabric as a platform that combines data centre assets, network links, services and partner technologies. The latest agreement extends that strategy by pairing Bell's facilities with Cohere's models and the hardware and compute layers supplied by Hypertec and BUZZ HPC.

Michel Richer, President, Bell AI Fabric, described the deal as a step towards closing a gap in Canada's AI market.

"Canada has the talent and innovation to lead in AI - what's been missing is the ambition to bring the right ingredients together. This landmark deal helps close that gap. Through our partnership, Cohere will operate its AI models in Bell AI Fabric infrastructure, enabled by the combined capabilities of Hypertec and BUZZ HPC. This agreement underscores the role Bell AI Fabric is playing in helping organizations move from experimentation to production on infrastructure that is located, operated and governed in Canada," Richer said.

Cohere has built its business around AI models and software for enterprise use, with an emphasis on private and controlled deployments. The company operates in Toronto and other cities and has attracted backing from a mix of technology investors and AI researchers.

Michael Pelosi, Country Manager, Canada, Cohere, said location and governance were central concerns for customers adopting AI.

"For enterprises and governments, adopting AI is not just about having access to powerful models. It's about knowing where those models run, how data is protected and whether the technology can be deployed with the security and reliability their work requires. This collaboration gives Cohere another way to support customers in Canada with advanced AI that is built for real use, on infrastructure that reflects Canadian priorities," Pelosi said.

Domestic hardware

Hypertec's involvement adds a manufacturing element to the agreement. Founded in Quebec, the company has long supplied computing systems and now has a growing focus on AI and high-performance computing infrastructure.

Its role is notable because access to AI hardware has become a strategic issue for countries seeking greater control over digital infrastructure. Servers, GPUs and related systems remain concentrated among a relatively small group of suppliers, making local assembly and integration an important selling point for some buyers.

"Advanced AI infrastructure requires highly engineered systems, deep technical talent and expertise, and the ability to deploy and support these solutions at scale. As an NVIDIA OEM partner, Hypertec delivers many of the industry's most advanced AI server platforms, with the ability to optimize architectures for customers' specific AI and HPC workloads. Through this partnership, we are combining cutting-edge compute infrastructure with the deployment, integration and service capabilities required to operate next-generation AI environments reliably and efficiently," said Don Schlidt, President, Hypertec HPC & AI, HCM.

BUZZ HPC said the partnership brings together data centre infrastructure, AI models, Canadian-built GPU servers and cloud operations in a combination not currently available elsewhere in Canada in the same form.

"AI does not scale on ideas alone, it scales on data centres, specialized GPU compute, sophisticated models and operational execution. This partnership brings together a combination of capabilities that does not exist anywhere else in Canada today: Bell's national platform, Cohere's world-class enterprise AI models, Hypertec's Canadian-built GPU servers, and BUZZ's AI factory expertise and sovereign AI cloud powered by NVIDIA's full-stack AI factory platform. The early momentum behind this partnership has been overwhelming because it solves a real national gap: giving Canada the sovereign AI infrastructure required to turn ambition into impact. For Canadians, this means building the infrastructure to use AI responsibly, improve lives and compete globally. Canada helped invent modern AI. Now we are building the factories to power it," said Craig Tavares, President and COO, BUZZ HPC.

The federal government also backed the collaboration.

"Canada cannot compete in the global AI economy without the infrastructure, talent and partnerships to support it. This collaboration brings those elements together - linking infrastructure, compute, and advanced AI capabilities in a way that helps support organizations strengthen control over data and innovation. It reflects the strength of Canada's AI ecosystem and the importance of continued collaboration among innovators to ensure that economic growth, jobs and intellectual property are developed and retained here at home. This is the kind of progress we need to strengthen Canada's position in a rapidly evolving global landscape," said The Honourable Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario.