The federal government has announced the launch of two programs, meant to bolster the development and adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) by small-and-medium-sized businesses (SMB), this week.
The government has officially closed its public consultation on AI computing infrastructure.
The programs look to dispense a total of $300 million to support the development and adoption of generative AI by SMBs. The programs are part of the $2.4 billion AI package outlined in the 2024 federal budget, which also promised to pump $2 billion into increasing the computing power available to the nation’s AI researchers, startups, and scaleups.
“The investments announced today are designed to serve as a catalyst for quicker AI adoption by this vital section of the economy, be a source of significant Canadian innovation, and enhance productivity and exports,” François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, said in a statement.
The $200 million Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative (RAII) program will be delivered over the next five years by the country’s seven regional development agencies (RDA). RAII is meant to help SMBs adopt and bring new AI technologies to market. Funding is also available to nonprofit organizations that support businesses developing, demonstrating, and commercializing AI applications and solutions.
So far, only PrairiesCan and FedDev Ontario have disclosed that they received $33.8 million and $50 million, respectively, as part of the initiative. Application windows depend on the RDA, with PrairiesCan holding an open application window until December 2028 while FedDev is only accepting applications until December 20, 2024. The remaining RDAs have yet to announce their application windows as of publication time.
The $100 million AI Assist program, administered by the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP), is meant to help Canadian SMBs navigate the scientific research, product development, testing, and validation it takes to incorporate generative AI and deep learning technologies into their core products.
Additionally, the government announced it had closed its public consultation on AI computing infrastructure, adding that the feedback of more than 1,000 Canadians and businesses will inform the implementation of a new AI Compute Access Fund and the Canadian AI Sovereign Compute Strategy.
“The government will build on this with Canada’s first sovereign compute strategy that will reflect the voices of Canadians from coast to coast to coast,” Champagne said.
Canadian AI leaders have previously called on the government to help address the availability of AI computing power and infrastructure, a valuable resource that the country reportedly lacks compared to the world stage.
Feature image courtesy Minister Champagne via X.