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Canadian Tech in 100 Words

Ottawa Backs Defence Tech Duo

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Ottawa is backing two Ontario defence tech plays with $15 million through the Regional Defence Investment Initiative. Toronto’s Creative Destruction Lab will receive up to $7 million in non-repayable funding to deliver its new CDL Defence accelerator, while Aurora-based Wolf Advanced Technology will access more than $8 million in a zero-interest repayable contribution to expand in-house production and validation of sovereign defence components.

Announced by Minister Evan Solomon at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School, the investments aim to strengthen Canada’s domestic defence industrial base and reduce reliance on U.S. suppliers.

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

Wonder Valley Targets 7.5GW

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O’Leary Digital has begun permitting for Wonder Valley Alberta, a proposed 7.5-gigawatt powered compute campus in Grande Prairie within the Greenview Industrial Gateway. The project forms part of a broader 15-gigawatt master plan spanning Alberta and Utah, backed by approximately 26,000 acres for long-term AI infrastructure development.

The company says global investment banks have been retained to structure project-level financing, with both sites capitalized through permitting. No construction timeline or anchor tenants have been disclosed. Executives say Indigenous engagement and scalable, hyperscale-aligned campus design are central to the Alberta buildout.

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

BNPL Expands into Tax Filing

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Affirm has partnered with H&R Block Canada to offer buy now, pay later installment plans for professional tax preparation services.

The integration marks the first time a major Canadian tax provider has embedded Affirm’s pay-over-time option. Eligible clients can split fees into fixed installments with transparent pricing, no late fees, and no compounding interest. The option is available in participating offices and will expand online. The move signals BNPL’s expansion beyond retail into essential financial services, as providers seek growth in recurring and seasonal categories like tax filing.

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

Novacap Closes $3.8B Tech Fund

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Montreal-based private equity firm Novacap has closed its Technologies Fund VII with nearly US$3.8 billion in commitments, exceeding its US$2.75 billion target in under a year. The fund will continue Novacap’s focus on North American middle-market B2B software and technology-enabled services companies. With the close, Novacap now manages more than US$12 billion in assets.

President and CEO Pascal Tremblay said investor demand reflects confidence in the firm’s disciplined technology buyout strategy. Recent activity includes the US$1.9 billion privatization of Integral Ad Science and the US$1.45 billion sale of Eddyfi Technologies.

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

Xanadu Partners with Lockheed on QML

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Toronto-based Xanadu has launched a research collaboration with Lockheed Martin to advance foundational theory and applications in quantum machine learning (QML). The initiative will focus on quantum-enabled generative models, exploring whether quantum computers can perform Fourier-based operations inaccessible to classical machine learning. The partners aim to address data-scarce environments in sectors such as defense, finance, and pharmaceuticals.

Xanadu CEO Christian Weedbrook said the work seeks to rethink how quantum systems represent and process data. Lockheed Martin described the partnership as part of its broader exploration of transformative quantum technologies.

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BioLabs Takes Over U of T Lab Space

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The University of Toronto has partnered with Cambridge, Mass.-based BioLabs to operate the 40,000-square-foot life sciences incubator space at MaRS Discovery District previously run by Johnson & Johnson.

The facility, Toronto’s largest shared lab incubator, will become BioLabs’ first Canadian location. More than 30 startups currently using the space will continue operations while gaining access to BioLabs’ global sponsor and investor network. U of T says the partnership addresses a severe shortage of wet lab space downtown, where vacancy rates are below one percent. BioLabs supports over 500 life science companies worldwide.

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

Bell, Hypertec Partner on Sovereign AI

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Bell and Hypertec have formed a strategic partnership to deliver sovereign AI infrastructure built, hosted, and operated in Canada. The collaboration combines Hypertec’s Canadian-manufactured, NVIDIA-based GPU systems with Bell AI Fabric, a national platform for AI compute and data centre services. The companies say the goal is to provide secure, scalable AI infrastructure while ensuring data and workloads remain under Canadian jurisdiction.

The offering targets public sector, enterprise, and research clients across defence, healthcare, financial services, and critical infrastructure. As AI adoption accelerates, the partnership aims to strengthen domestic supply chains and advance Canada’s technological sovereignty.

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

Calgary’s CoolIT Scales with AI Demand

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Calgary-based CoolIT Systems says it has expanded global production at triple-digit rates over the past two years as AI workloads drive demand for liquid-cooled data centres. The company increased output of coolant distribution units and coldplates while developing systems capable of cooling chips exceeding 4,000 watts and racks surpassing 500 kilowatts.

CoolIT’s technology cools more than five million processors and is deployed in seven of the world’s top ten supercomputers. The firm plans further expansion in Canada, China, and Vietnam in 2026. As AI compute density rises, liquid cooling is becoming essential infrastructure.

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

Fashion’s Water Problem Meets Tech

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Textile dyeing is notoriously thirsty — and dirty. Viridis Research just proved it doesn’t have to be. In a Bangladesh pilot with H&M and mill partners, the Vancouver cleantech firm achieved nearly 100% colour removal from dye wastewater, enabling treated water to cycle back into production.

The breakthrough isn’t lab-based. It ran in live factory conditions, across dye baths and treatment streams. If scaled, the technology could materially reduce freshwater demand in one of the world’s most water-intensive industries. For BC’s water-tech ecosystem, it’s global validation. For fashion supply chains, it’s a potential reset.

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

Fintech Giant Bets on Canadian Talent

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Fintech giant Stripe has signed a major new office lease at Portland Commons in downtown Toronto, reinforcing its long-term commitment to Canada. The San Francisco- and Dublin-based payments company first established a Canadian office in 2021 and has since expanded local engineering, product, and sales teams. The new lease signals continued investment in Toronto as a fintech hub.

The move comes amid renewed demand for office space in the city’s tech and finance sectors. For Canadian tech talent, Stripe’s expansion suggests ongoing hiring opportunities in payments and infrastructure roles.

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