Bell Canada partners with Cohere, Hypertec and BUZZ HPC to build sovereign AI infrastructure

Bell Canada Advances Sovereign AI with Strategic Partnership

Bell Canada has unveiled a landmark partnership with Cohere, Hypertec and BUZZ High Performance Computing to develop AI infrastructure in Canada, marking a significant advancement in the country's digital sovereignty and AI capabilities 1

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. The $21.77 billion telecom company is leveraging its Bell AI Fabric platform to create a foundation for Canadian-based AI infrastructure that addresses growing demand for locally controlled AI workloads. Under the agreement, Bell will provide data center capacity and connectivity services from its Merritt, British Columbia facility, which has been purpose-built for advanced AI workloads 2

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Building a High-Performance Canadian AI Infrastructure Stack

The collaboration brings together distinct capabilities from each partner to create a comprehensive AI infrastructure in Canada. BUZZ HPC, a subsidiary of Hive Digital Technologies, will deliver AI-native cloud infrastructure using Hypertec's hardware cluster and NVIDIA accelerated computing to support production-grade AI workloads 1

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. Cohere will operate its foundation models on this platform and provide secure enterprise-grade AI solutions for government and enterprise customers. The partnership builds on previously announced initiatives, including the launch of the Canadian Sovereign AI Alliance, which aims to reinforce Canada's position in the global AI landscape 1

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Sovereign AI Meets Enterprise Demands

The deal reflects growing demand for sovereign AI solutions that enable organizations to maintain control over data, performance and security. Michel Richer, President of Bell AI Fabric, emphasized that the partnership helps close critical gaps in Canadian AI infrastructure 1

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. Michael Pelosi, Country Manager for Canada at Cohere, noted the collaboration provides another avenue to support customers with AI infrastructure that reflects Canadian priorities 1

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. Cohere, founded in 2019 and headquartered in Toronto and San Francisco, has raised approximately $1.6 billion from investors including AMD Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, Oracle and Cisco 1

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Canadian Manufacturing and Renewable Energy Power AI Growth

The partnership emphasizes domestic manufacturing capabilities and sustainable operations. Hypertec, founded in 1984 and serving clients in over 80 countries as an NVIDIA OEM partner, will manufacture the hardware cluster in Canada 1

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. BUZZ HPC operates GPU clusters across nine time zones and three continents, with facilities powered by renewable energy, addressing environmental concerns associated with large-scale AI data center operations 1

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. The platform will utilize NVIDIA's DSX AI factory platform to support the critical research and development needed for large language models using Canadian infrastructure 2

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. This infrastructure approach positions Canada to compete more effectively in the global AI race while maintaining economic resilience and digital sovereignty through locally controlled systems.