Telus opens sovereign AI factory in Quebec

Executive Summary

• Telus Corp. has officially opened Canada's first fully sovereign AI factory in Rimouski, Quebec, marking a historic milestone in the nation's technological independence.
• The facility is designed to store data within Canadian borders, serving Canadian businesses, researchers, and innovators with advanced AI capabilities while ensuring data sovereignty.
• The launch establishes Telus as the first North American service provider to join the NVIDIA Cloud Partner (NCP) network, leveraging industry-leading NVIDIA GPUs and HPE infrastructure.

Key Details

• Facility Location & Status: The fully sovereign AI factory is located in Rimouski, Quebec, and is now operational.
• Technology Infrastructure: The facility is accelerated by latest-generation NVIDIA graphic processing units (GPUs) and state-of-the-art computing infrastructure designed by HPE.
• Capabilities: The factory provides end-to-end development capabilities, including model training, fine-tuning for specific needs, and inferencing for business operations.
• Strategic Partnerships:
  • NVIDIA: Telus is the first North American service provider to join the NVIDIA Cloud Partner (NCP) network, gaining access to advanced technology and high-performance reference architectures.
  • League: Will run its comprehensive suite of AI-powered health care solutions on the platform, enhancing personalized healthcare experiences while keeping sensitive data in Canada.
  • Accenture: Will develop and deploy industry-specific solutions for Canadian clients in sovereignty-sensitive sectors (public services, health care, critical infrastructure, financial services).
  • OpenText: Will leverage the factory to deliver sovereign, secure, and scalable cloud AI solutions via its Aviator AI platform to over 1,600 Canadian enterprise and government customers.
• Environmental Impact: The facility is powered by 99% renewable energy, operates with three times greater energy efficiency than the industry average, and reduces water consumption by over 75% through innovative natural cooling systems.
• Future Expansion: CEO Darren Entwistle indicated that a second facility is planned for Kamloops.

Notable Quotes

• Darren Entwistle, President and CEO, Telus: "Today marks a defining milestone for Canada's digital future... By delivering advanced compute power within data centres built, owned and operated by Canadians, Telus is safeguarding our data, protecting our sovereignty and empowering our economy."
• Hon. Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation: "Expanding data and compute capacity here at home supports the government's vision for AI-driven productivity and competitiveness. By keeping data and compute within Canada, Telus is contributing to responsible innovation and strengthening our broader economic objectives."
• Ronnie Vasishta, Senior Vice-President of Telecom, NVIDIA: "Telus is bringing this vision to reality in Canada, building a robust platform combining the most advanced NVIDIA AI technology with their world-class infrastructure in a truly sovereign environment."