Scale AI unveils $129 million for 44 new applied AI projects across Canada

Scale AI has revealed nearly $129 million CAD in fresh financing across 44 new Canadian applied artificial intelligence (AI) projects in what it claims is its largest group of commitments to date.

The government-backed Canadian AI cluster is ponying up about $46 million, while private partners are coinvesting the remaining $83 million.

“This is a signal that Canada is committed to… building Canadian global champions.”
Michael Serbinis, League

Scale AI aims to support the growth of the country’s AI industry and fuel the adoption of made-in-Canada AI across the country. It announced the funding news this morning at the Toronto headquarters of healthtech unicorn League, which is co-leading a Scale AI-backed project aimed at using AI agents to help Canadians access healthcare benefits more easily.

Participating partners include businesses and public entities from a wide range of sectors, from healthcare to agriculture, mining, transportation, and media. “It’s so important to see so many industries beginning to adopt AI,” Scale AI CEO Julien Billot argued on stage.

Scale AI is funding initiatives from five different provinces, including British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and Québec. Supported projects include AI initiatives aimed at helping healthcare teams coordinate care for cancer patients after radiation therapy, helping electric utilities respond to power outages, and speeding up oil and gas pipeline inspections.

In addition to League, project partners include AlayaCare, Alectra Utilities, Bombardier, Cirque du Soleil, FluidAI Medical, Gildan, The Globe and Mail, GreenShield, MDA Space, Unilever Canada, the University of Calgary, and Vooban, among others.

“To me, this is a signal that Canada is committed to the next generation of technology and committed to this idea—which I believe very strongly in—of building Canadian global champions,” League founder and CEO Michael Serbinis said on stage.

Serbinis, who participated in Canada’s AI Task Force, said the consensus was that Canada has the ingredients to win in AI but “we must scale our AI champions by a factor of 10.” Doing this, he added, will require “bold commitments” from government, industry, and academia. “Today’s funding is another important step forward,” Serbinis said.

Feature image courtesy Scale AI. Photo by Melanie Olmstead.