Denvr signs two defence deals to deepen sovereign AI push in Canada

By March 25, 2026
Denvr's technology will help Dominion Dynamics test its “autonomous wingman.”
Calgary company teams up with Dominion Dynamics on drone simulation and Sapper on intelligence and cyber defence.

Calgary’s Denvr has inked a deal with two Ottawa-based defence companies, including a deal with Dominion Dynamics to develop a simulation environment for unmanned drones and one with Sapper Labs to deliver AI-enabled intelligence and cyber defence for the Canadian Armed Forces. 

Denvr provides purpose-built, high-performance AI and cloud infrastructure, including the Canada AI Platform (CAIP), a fully sovereign AI platform based entirely within Canadian jurisdiction. Both partnerships will leverage CAIP toward different ends: Dominion will use the platform to develop a simulation environment for training unmanned drones called autonomous collaborative platforms (ACPs), while Sapper’s intelligence and cyber defence applications will be deployed onto CAIP itself, strengthening CAIP’s security architecture, operational security capabilities, and delivering a “fully sovereign, Canadian-owned AI intelligence ecosystem.”

“We can iterate and test far faster than we ever could in the real world.”

“That expertise is exactly what the Canada AI Platform needs—not just as an application on top of the platform, but built into its foundations,” Denvr CEO Geoff Gordon said in a statement on March 25.  

That increase in sovereign security will be a net benefit for Denvr’s other defence partners, including Dominion’s simulation environment, which is designed to assist the Royal Canadian Air Force in testing operations concepts across different types of ACPs, according to Dominion.

During simulations, operators will be able to test conditions like propulsion speed, altitude, and endurance across different mission objectives to evaluate how the ACP systems perform. 

“We can iterate and test far faster than we ever could in the real world,” Eliot Pence, CEO and founder of Dominion Dynamics, said in an email to BetaKit.

Dominion’s simulation environment is already under development, with the company estimating it will be ready for use in approximately three months. From there, the defence company expects operational drone capability to come online within 24 to 30 months.

RELATED: Dominion Dynamics says it will invest $50 million to build a “sovereign autonomous wingman”

Gordon said Denvr’s platform was tailor-built for this type of partnership. 

“Dominion Dynamics is building something remarkable—an autonomous wingman capability from the ground up, by Canadians for Canada’s security,” Gordon said in a press release. “The Canada AI Platform was built for exactly this purpose: a sovereign AI platform, designed to Canadian defence standards, operating entirely under Canadian jurisdiction.”

Once operational, the simulation system will be integrated with the Canadian Armed Forces, which Dominion and Denvr are working with throughout the development process. 

“Integration with the Canadian Armed Forces is core to how the system is designed, tested, and ultimately operated,” Pence said.  

The partnership between the two companies comes on the heels of Dominion’s announcement of a $50-million investment toward developing autonomous drone capabilities. The joint simulation environment will aid in the development of those capabilities and contribute to NORAD modernization, arctic defence, and Canadian Armed Forces readiness, according to Dominion.

UPDATE (03/25/2026): This story has been updated to include details about Denvr’s partnership with Sapper Labs. 

Feature image courtesy Dominion Dynamics.

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