Bell Canada and partners form AI infrastructure deal in Canada

Bell Canada (NYSE: BCE), Cohere, Hypertec, and BUZZ High Performance Computing (HPC), a subsidiary of Hive Digital Technologies (NASDAQ: HIVE), announced an AI infrastructure agreement aimed at deploying advanced AI workloads on Canadian-based infrastructure.

Under the agreement, Bell AI Fabric will provide data centre capacity and connectivity services from its Merritt, British Columbia facility. BUZZ HPC will deliver an AI-native cloud layer using Hypertec-manufactured hardware and Nvidia accelerated computing. Cohere will use the platform to operate its foundation models and support AI solutions for government and enterprise customers.

The deal builds on previously announced partnerships among the four companies. Hypertec, founded in 1984, manufactures the hardware in Canada as an Nvidia OEM partner. BUZZ HPC's infrastructure runs on renewable energy across facilities in North America, South America, and Europe.

Michel Richer, President of Bell AI Fabric, said Cohere will operate its AI models within Bell AI Fabric infrastructure, enabled by Hypertec and BUZZ HPC capabilities, and described the agreement as helping organizations move "from experimentation to production on infrastructure that is located, operated and governed in Canada."

Michael Pelosi, Country Manager for Canada at Cohere, said the 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."

Craig Tavares, President and COO of BUZZ HPC, said the partnership combines Bell's national platform, Cohere's enterprise AI models, Hypertec's Canadian-built GPU servers, and BUZZ's AI factory expertise.

Canada's Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, the Honourable Evan Solomon, commented that the collaboration links infrastructure, compute, and AI capabilities in a way that supports organizations in strengthening control over data and innovation.

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

You May Also Be Interested In

• Alphabet added to Dow Jones Industrial Average, Verizon dropped
• Cerebras Systems posts 94% revenue jump, announces OpenAI deal
• Enanta Pharma loses appeal in Pfizer Paxlovid patent case