Decoder.ca

Canadian Tech in 100 Words

Bell Quadruples Saskatchewan AI Bet

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Bell is quadrupling its Saskatchewan AI data centre project from 300 to 1,200 megawatts, after Prime Minister Mark Carney, Premier Scott Moe, and CEO Mirko Bibic announced a new 900-megawatt expansion at the Canada Investment Summit. The Regina-area campus is part of Bell AI Fabric, a national platform combining data centres, fibre connectivity, cloud services, and high-performance compute for sovereign AI workloads.

Earlier plans called for a 300-megawatt build with phased service beginning in 2027. The larger project strengthens Saskatchewan’s bid to become a Canadian-controlled compute hub while raising bigger questions about power supply, grid planning, jobs, and domestic data.

Want to know more? Check out the source code on DataCentre.ca.

Photonic Proposes $500M Semiconductor Facility

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Vancouver-based Photonic has unveiled Project VANGUARD, a proposal for a $500 million Canadian semiconductor manufacturing facility serving quantum computing, AI, aerospace, defence, advanced sensing, and chip packaging. The multi-tenant facility would be anchored by Photonic and provide domestic manufacturing capacity for companies moving from prototypes to commercial-scale production.

Project VANGUARD has been selected for the Canada Investment Summit Prospectus, highlighting nationally significant investment opportunities. Photonic says the facility could create skilled jobs, strengthen Canadian technology sovereignty, protect intellectual property and supply chains, and build domestic expertise across semiconductor design, fabrication, packaging, and commercialization while supporting allied advanced-technology supply chains globally.

Want to know more? Check out the source code on Techcouver.com.

Intrepid Closes AI Growth Fund

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Intrepid Growth Partners has formally launched with the final close of its inaugural US$525 million fund, positioning the Toronto- and London-based firm as a specialist growth investor for AI companies. Founded by former CPPIB CEO Mark Machin, former OMERS growth equity head Mark Shulgan, and University of Toronto AI economist Ajay Agrawal, Intrepid will back commercially proven businesses using AI to redesign industries.

Fund I is supported by more than 80 global limited partners, including Temasek, Abu Dhabi Investment Council, British Business Bank, Export Development Canada, and BDC. The firm will focus on Canada, the U.K., U.S., and Europe.

Want to know more? Check out the source code here.

Quantum Machines Links Qubits and GPUs

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Quantum Machines has demonstrated an end-to-end NVIDIA CUDA-Q program running across live qubits, GPUs, CPUs, and its classical PPU processor using NVIDIA NVQLink. The milestone lets developers write hybrid quantum-classical applications in familiar languages such as Python, C++, and QUA without manually coding low-level quantum control sequences.

Quantum Machines says the full exchange between processors completed in roughly one microsecond, enabling the real-time coordination needed for future workloads such as quantum error correction. The company is demonstrating the system at IEEE Quantum Week in Toronto, showcasing how quantum processors could eventually operate as another computing resource alongside CPUs and GPUs.

Fullscript Changes Hands

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Ottawa healthtech company Fullscript is changing hands, with Altas Partners and L Catterton acquiring a majority stake from HGGC and Snapdragon Capital Partners. Financial terms were not disclosed. Founded in 2011, Fullscript provides supplement fulfillment, laboratory management and clinical tools used by more than 135,000 healthcare practitioners serving 10 million patients annually.

HGGC and Snapdragon invested US$240 million in Fullscript in 2021. The company has since acquired Emerson Ecologics and Rupa Health while adding integrations with Oura and Epic. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter, subject to regulatory approval.

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Ultimarii Speeds Infrastructure Approvals

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Calgary-based Ultimarii has raised $1.3 million in Series A funding to accelerate permitting and approvals for critical energy and infrastructure projects across North America. The round was led by Allied VC and includes strategic investors from energy, project development, and professional services.

Ultimarii’s software helps teams manage regulatory workflows, stakeholder engagement, land access, environmental requirements, documentation, and reporting in one platform. The company says infrastructure developers face growing pressure to move faster while maintaining compliance and transparency. The new capital will support product development, customer growth, and expansion into additional markets where complex approvals slow major project execution.

Want to know more? Check out the source code on Calgary.tech.

Deloitte Builds Open AI Practice

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Deloitte Canada has launched an Open Model Engineering practice to help enterprises and governments build agentic AI systems using open models, open-source engineering, and proprietary tools where needed. The practice will initially serve clients in Canada, the U.S., Europe, and Asia Pacific, targeting flexibility, cost predictability, data sovereignty, IP protection, model control, and inference transparency.

Early work will focus on NVIDIA Nemotron open models and NIM microservices, while Deloitte’s Zora AI platform will support deployment, optimization, and governance of open-model agents. Deloitte also plans to hire, train, and certify forward deployed engineers through fiscal 2027 to scale the practice globally.

Want to know more? Check out the source code here.

Borderless AI Buys CaymanEmployment.com

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Toronto-based Borderless AI has acquired CaymanEmployment.com, giving its global payroll platform a direct operating presence in the Cayman Islands. The deal brings local employment, work permit, immigration, banking, benefits, payroll, and compliance services into one Employer of Record offering.

Borderless AI says companies hiring in Cayman have traditionally coordinated across multiple providers; owning the local entity, licences, banking relationships, and employment infrastructure should reduce handoffs and delays. The expansion targets growing demand from founders, executives, investment funds, insurers, and financial-services firms operating internationally. Borderless AI now helps customers onboard, pay, and manage workers in more than 170 countries worldwide globally.

Want to know more? Check out the source code on Fintech.ca.

RBC Backs Canadian Scaleups

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RBC is launching a $1.4 billion initiative to back Canadian technology companies with global potential, anchored by the new RBCx Growth Fund I. The bank will invest up to $416 million and focus on late-stage companies in enterprise software, health tech, frontier tech, energy and climate tech, and agtech.

RBC says the fund will pair equity capital with commercialization, advisory, partnership, and expansion support. The goal is to help more Canadian startups scale at home instead of relying on foreign-led growth rounds, where RBC says Canada has historically lagged the U.S. in domestic investor leadership and ownership.

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Tangerine Refreshes Digital Banking

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Tangerine is repositioning itself for Canada’s next era of digital banking with a refreshed brand, redesigned app experience, and broader product ambitions. CEO Gillian Riley says the Scotiabank-owned bank wants to move beyond its direct-banking roots while staying focused on simplicity, transparency, and lower-cost everyday finance.

The update comes as digital-first competitors such as Wealthsimple, Neo Financial, Koho, EQ Bank, and fintech newcomers pressure incumbents to improve mobile experiences, pricing, and personalization. Tangerine, founded from ING Direct Canada and acquired by Scotiabank in 2012, is betting its mix of bank backing and digital convenience can still compete.

Want to know more? Check out the source code on Fintech.ca.