Government of Canada introduces AI Compute Access Fund to support Canadian innovators

Fund marks significant step in the Canadian Sovereign AI Compute Strategy

OTTAWA, ON, March 7, 2025 /CNW/ - Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

Compute is the processing power, the chips and the data centres, behind artificial intelligence (AI). It is the backbone of this transformative new technology. The Government of Canada is committed to supporting access to cutting-edge compute infrastructure to secure Canada's AI advantage and empower researchers and industries to thrive.

Today, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, launched the AI Compute Access Fund. This Fund will provide up to $300 million for affordable access to compute power for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to develop made-in-Canada AI products and solutions.

The AI Compute Access Fund will allow innovators to access the compute capacity they need to enable the complex calculations that drive AI systems. This will address barriers to AI development in sectors that require high-performance computing capacity and demonstrate high potential for AI adoption, such as health and life sciences, energy and advanced manufacturing.  

This initiative is part of the Canadian Sovereign AI Compute Strategy, a federal investment of $2 billion. These efforts will secure Canada's AI leadership by ensuring access to cutting-edge computing infrastructure, which attracts more global AI investment to Canada, develops and attracts the best talent, and helps Canadian researchers and businesses compete and succeed on the world stage. 

Quotes

"AI has the potential to be transformative across sectors, yet we know that the cost of compute and other barriers obstruct small- and medium-sized enterprises from developing the next generation of AI products . As such, our government is proud to announce the AI Compute Access Fund, which will spur innovation and enable SMEs to compete on a more level playing field with larger companies. We are positioning Canada at the forefront of the AI revolution – and our government knows that when we all innovate, we all win."

– The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry

Quick facts

• The public consultations on the Canadian Sovereign AI Compute Strategy ran over the summer of 2024 and received input from more than 1,000 stakeholders from research, industry and civil society through in-person and virtual round table discussions and an online survey.
• The Government of Canada is supporting the responsible development and adoption of AI across the Canadian economy through a suite of measures—including the Canadian Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute, and the Voluntary Code of Conduct on the Responsible Development and Management of Advanced Generative AI Systems.
• The Government of Canada is allocating $2 billion from Budget 2024 through a series of investments to meet the short, medium and long-term compute needs of our world leading innovators, businesses and researchers:
  • Up to $700 million to support projects from industry, academia and the private sector to build Canadian AI data centres. There will be an application process for these funds, with priority given to Canadian projects that can demonstrate a high rate of return on public investment, sustainability and other markers of success.
  • Up to $705 million for a new AI supercomputing system through the AI Sovereign Compute Infrastructure Program. This state-of-the-art, Canadian-owned and located supercomputing system will support researchers and a cross-section of industry, and will exponentially increase the compute power currently available in Canada. In addition, a smaller secure computing system, to be led by Shared Services Canada and the National Research Council of Canada, will also be established for government and industry to perform research and development, including for national security purposes.
  • In the near term, up to $200 million will be provided to augment existing public compute infrastructure to address immediate needs.
  • Up to $300 million will go to the AI Compute Access Fund to support the purchase of AI compute resources by innovative Canadian SMEs. This will meet the near-term needs of businesses as the government encourages increased private capital to build domestic compute capacity.
• Canada's AI sector is a key job creator and driver of productivity, innovation and economic growth:
  • In 2022–23, there were over 140,000 actively engaged AI professionals in Canada, an increase of 29% compared to the previous year.
  • Canada has 10% of the world's top-tier AI researchers, the second-highest number in the world.
  • Canada ranks first globally for year-over-year growth of women in AI (67% growth in 2022–23 alone), first in the G7 for year-over-year growth of AI talent and, since 2019, first in the G7 for the number of AI-related papers published per capita.
  • The number of AI patents filed by Canadian inventors increased by 57% in 2022–23 compared to the previous year—nearly three times the G7 average of just 23% over the same period.
  • In 2022, the Canadian AI sector attracted over $8.6 billion in venture capital, accounting for nearly 30% of all venture capital activity in Canada.
  • Canada ranks third in the G7 in total funding per capita raised for AI companies, with more than 670 Canadian AI start-ups and 30 Canadian generative AI companies receiving at least one investment deal valued at more than US$1 million since 2019.
• Today's announcement follows closely on the call for statements of interest for the AI Sovereign Compute Infrastructure Program (SCIP), announced last week. The SCIP will build a state-of-the-art Canadian-owned and located high-performance supercomputing system that will anchor national AI-specific computing infrastructure to meet the needs of Canada's world-class research and innovation ecosystem.

Associated links

• What We Heard: Consultation on Artificial Intelligence (AI) Compute
• Artificial intelligence ecosystem
• Canadian Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute
• Voluntary Code of Conduct on the Responsible Development and Management of Advanced Generative AI Systems
• Securing Canada's AI advantage

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Contacts: Audrey Milette, A/Director of Communications, Office of the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, [email protected]; Media Relations, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, [email protected]