Four major Canadian technology companies announced a partnership to build sovereign AI infrastructure in Canada, combini
Bell Canada, Cohere, Hypertec and BUZZ High Performance Computing, a subsidiary of Hive Digital Technologies, announced on June 18, 2026 a major AI infrastructure deal marking a significant step forward in the development and deployment of advanced AI workloads on sovereign Canadian infrastructure. The collaboration brings together Bell AI Fabric's data centre and connectivity foundation, Cohere's secure enterprise-grade AI solutions and large language model capabilities, and BUZZ HPC's scalable accelerated computing infrastructure powered by NVIDIA's DSX AI factory platform and built on hardware manufactured in Canada by Hypertec.
The four companies will build the conditions needed to conduct critical research and development for AI models using Canadian infrastructure with Canadian partners, reinforcing Canada's digital sovereignty and economic resilience. This announcement reflects growing collaboration among Canadian technology leaders since the launch of Bell AI Fabric and the Canadian Sovereign AI Alliance. As organizations move from AI experimentation to large-scale deployment, demand is increasing for high-performance infrastructure that enables Canadian AI, supporting greater control over data, performance and security.
Under the agreement, Bell will provide data centre capacity and connectivity services from its Merritt, British Columbia facility, purpose-built for advanced AI workloads. BUZZ HPC will deliver the AI-native cloud layer using Hypertec's Canadian-built hardware cluster and NVIDIA accelerated computing to support production-grade AI workloads, while Cohere will use the platform to operate its foundation models and support secure enterprise-grade AI solutions for government and enterprise customers.
Michel Richer, President of Bell AI Fabric, stated: "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."
Michael Pelosi, Country Manager Canada for Cohere, said: "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."
Don Schlidt, President of Hypertec HPC and AI, noted that as an NVIDIA OEM partner, Hypertec delivers advanced AI server platforms with the ability to optimize architectures for customers' specific AI and HPC workloads. Craig Tavares, President and COO of BUZZ HPC, emphasized that 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 Honourable Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, stated that Canada cannot compete in the global AI economy without the infrastructure, talent and partnerships to support it, and that this collaboration 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 in Canada.