Québec City-based artificial intelligence (AI) solutions company Vooban is expanding into Ontario and growing its team as it looks to ride a wave of interest in AI integration.
To fill its new Toronto office, Vooban plans to hire for 20 to 25 roles, including sales architects, cloud solution architects, and account executives, before the end of 2025. It has close to 200 employees in Montréal and Québec City, and has five people working in Ontario so far in sales and human resources.
“Some companies are very conscious about the fact that they are late, and some of them want to be more bold than conservative.”
Vooban is a service company that helps client companies implement AI solutions faster, executive vice-president Hugues Foltz said. Founded 14 years ago, Vooban began as a custom software developer, mainly working with the Department of National Defence. It started offering AI integration services before the release of OpenAI’s large-language model-based text generator ChatGPT and the subsequent boom in generative AI adoption.
Vooban now finds itself well-placed to capitalize on an increasing number of Canadian companies adopting AI solutions as they look to boost productivity in an uncertain economic environment.
Some clients have already incorporated AI functionality and are returning for their next projects, while others are jumping on the AI bandwagon for the first time.
“Some companies are very conscious about the fact that they are late, and some of them want to be more bold than conservative,” Foltz told BetaKit. “Many companies actually contact us to transform themselves as fast as possible.”
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The demand for AI integrations has ticked up in Canada in recent years, even for businesses operating outside of the tech space—though a 2024 report showed AI adoption in Canada lags behind its global peers. According to Statistics Canada, more than 10 percent of Canadian companies surveyed in 2024 plan to use AI over the next year. Market research from IBM indicates that over half of Canadian businesses plan to increase their AI investments in 2025.
This has coincided with steady growth for Vooban: Foltz said the company’s revenue has grown by 50 percent for three years running.
Foltz said Vooban helps companies identify areas to introduce AI where the return on investment will be highest, from accounting to supply chain management. Some of its biggest Canadian clients include aerospace manufacturer Pratt & Whitney and Crown corporation Canadian National Railway.
Vooban does not have proprietary AI models, but the team uses a mix of commercially available models that they determine align with customer needs.
Another part of its expansion strategy in Ontario is identifying acquisition targets, Foltz said. Early last year, the company acquired Québec-city based Stratéjia to add further expertise in business intelligence and data governance.
In addition to its hiring plans in Toronto, Foltz said Vooban plans to expand into the US and sign its first US client, with a Vancouver expansion as a secondary priority.
AI as a tool in the trade war arsenal
Apart from its Ontario expansion, Vooban’s services are in local demand as Québec companies face economic headwinds, including an ongoing US-Canada trade war set to heavily impact domestic manufacturers.
The company was drafted by its shareholder, Québec pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), to help deliver a business support program launched in the wake of US tariff threats in February.
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The AI Expertise Program targets Québec-domiciled businesses that generated over $25 million in revenue in 2024. Once accepted into the program’s first cohort, participating companies attend workshops led by Vooban on integrating AI solutions, all covered by CDPQ. Some companies will have the chance to move on to a second round, where Vooban will provide support in implementing an AI-driven innovation project.
The program also offers access to capital, through grants or loans, and networking opportunities to diversify their clients away from the US. In a statement, CDPQ president and CEO Charles Émond said the tariff threat must be seen as a “call to action” for Québec companies to “mobilize like never before.”
CDPQ invested in Vooban in 2023, marking the company’s first source of external funding since its founding in 2011. Though it did not disclose an amount, CDPQ senior director of private equity Yves-André Levasseur joined Vooban’s board as part of the round.
Feature image courtesy Vooban.