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Canadian Tech in 100 Words

Cohere Expands North AI Agent System to Wider Market

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Toronto-based Cohere is making its North AI agent-builder widely available, moving beyond early deployments with major clients including RBC, Bell, STC Group, and Ensemble Health Partners.

North combines Cohere’s large language models with search and workflow tools to help employees automate tasks like drafting reports, summarizing requests, or generating job postings. Clients can run North on internal servers or in their own cloud setups, ensuring data privacy. Cohere plans to charge per user rather than per token to boost adoption, positioning North as a single enterprise solution for generative AI-powered productivity.

Want to know more? Check out the source code on The Logic.

Canada’s Tech Workforce Hits 1.45M, Study Finds

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Canada’s technology workforce reached 1.45 million in 2024, according to CompTIA’s State of the Tech Workforce Canada 2025 report. The industry now generates $130 billion, or 6% of Canada’s economy. Tech hubs remain concentrated in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, with Alberta and Atlantic Canada emerging as smaller players.

Employment is projected to grow 1.4% in 2025, adding 27,000 jobs, with long-term sector growth nearly double the national average. Median tech wages sit at $97,000—48% above the national median—reflecting high demand for roles in AI, data analytics, cybersecurity, and software development.

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

RBC Unveils ATOM, Its Proprietary AI Model

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The Royal Bank of Canada has announced ATOM—its “Asynchronous Temporal Model”—a proprietary foundation model designed for financial services. Developed by RBC’s Borealis research institute and part of the Lumina platform, ATOM processes billions of transactions to deliver personalized products and services.

Early applications include responsible lending, risk assessment, and tailored recommendations for 1.3 million Avion Rewards users. Chief Science Officer Foteini Agrafioti says ATOM “represents the future of banking at RBC,” enabling the institution to improve client experiences while maintaining security and privacy. Broader deployment across RBC products is under review.

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

Blue J Raises $168M to Scale AI Tax Research

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Toronto-based Blue J has raised $168 million in Series D financing, just seven months after closing its Series C round. Led by Oak HC/FT and Sapphire Ventures, with participation from Intrepid Growth Partners, Ten Coves Capital, and CPA.com, the round cements Blue J’s status as a leader in AI-powered tax research.

CEO Benjamin Alarie said the investment will accelerate product development and market expansion. Blue J’s generative AI platform delivers instant, source-cited tax answers across U.S., Canadian, U.K., and SALT domains, with strong adoption and revenue growth in 2025.

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

ABB Invests $130M in Canadian Electrification Facility

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Swiss electrification leader ABB is investing $130 million to expand research, development, and manufacturing in Canada, marking its largest commitment to the country to date. The company will open a 340,000-square-foot facility on Montreal’s South Shore by late 2025, consolidating operations from Iberville and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu.

The plant will boost production capacity by over 30% and reduce carbon emissions 95% through energy-efficient systems. Backed by $16 million from Investissement Québec, the site will use locally sourced steel and aluminum to meet growing demand for grid resilience, renewable energy, and smart infrastructure solutions.

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

Most STEM Graduates Stay in Canada, StatCan Finds

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A new Statistics Canada study shows most Canadian STEM graduates remain in the country, even as top talent continues to leave for higher-paying opportunities abroad. Among domestic STEM graduates from 2015–2020, 91.2% filed Canadian taxes in their first year after graduation and 88.9% after three years.

International graduates are more mobile, but retention has improved to 63.6% after three years. Retention is lowest among PhD holders and students from top-ranked universities, highlighting an ongoing “brain drain” of high-achieving talent to the U.S. Economists urge policies that connect graduates with domestic careers to strengthen Canada’s innovation economy.

Want to know more? Check out the source code on The Logic.

EQT, CPP Investments Acquire Neogov for $3B

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EQT and CPP Investments have acquired HR software company Neogov in a $3 billion deal from Warburg Pincus and The Carlyle Group. Neogov, which serves public sector organizations, will focus on integrating AI to enhance compliance and efficiency under its new ownership.

The transaction reflects a rising trend of sponsor-to-sponsor exits, which account for 51.3% of U.S. private equity exits year-to-date, according to PitchBook. CPP Investments targets large-scale technology and service deals in North America and Europe, while the acquisition brings EQT X fund deployment to roughly 60-65%.

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

Thomson Reuters Launches CoCounsel Legal With Agentic AI

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Thomson Reuters has launched CoCounsel Legal, its most advanced AI product, bringing agentic AI to legal professionals through Deep Research and guided workflows. Built on Westlaw and Practical Law content, CoCounsel can generate structured, citation-backed research reports and execute multi-step workflows like drafting policies, complaints, and discovery requests.

Unlike traditional copilots, the platform embeds AI directly into legal work, offering reasoning, planning, and transparency to support law firms and corporate legal teams. Executives say CoCounsel Legal represents a shift from prompt-based tools to enterprise-ready AI teammates.

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

Databricks to Open First Canadian R&D Hub in Vancouver

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San Francisco-based Databricks is launching a new research and development hub in Vancouver, its first in Canada. Led by Ken Wong—co-founder of Datajoy, acquired in 2022—the team will focus on AI-driven business intelligence, Unity Catalog’s semantic modeling, Databricks Apps, and petabyte-scale analytics.

Vancouver joins a global R&D roster that includes Silicon Valley, Berlin, and Bengaluru. Databricks already supports Canadian clients like Air Canada and TD Bank. The move deepens Canada’s innovation footprint as Databricks, now valued at $62 billion, eyes $3.7 billion in annualized revenue and a future IPO.

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

QScale Eyes $4B AI Data Centre Near Toronto

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Lévis-based QScale plans to build a $2.5–$4 billion AI data centre in the Greater Toronto Area, pending formal approval from Hydro One this fall. The Ontario facility would be one of Canada’s largest and follows QScale’s Q01 build in Lévis—a 142-megawatt, $1.2B centre powering firms like HPE and Micrologic.

Q01’s success, including free cooling and heat reuse for nearby greenhouses, offers a blueprint for Toronto. With AI workloads skyrocketing, QScale aims to capitalize on demand while advancing sustainable infrastructure.

Want to know more? Check out the source code on The Logic.