The Canadian Export Development Agency (EDC) invested C$100 million in fast-growing Canadian AI companies in 2024.

AI (artificial intelligence) is a tool that mimics human intelligence to solve problems and perform tasks. 

To strengthen Canada’s competitiveness in AI, the Canadian government’s export credit agency EDC is taking a holistic approach to its investments to ensure that its support extends across the entire technology portfolio, from high-performance AI-enabled computing hardware to basic GenAI models and end-user applications that leverage AI.

Canadian AI companies

In 2024, EDC invested a total of C$100 million in fast-growing Canadian AI companies whose transformative technologies contribute to Canada’s competitiveness in enabling AI globally. 

EDC’s support took the form of equity financing, taking a minority equity stake to help these companies achieve their international growth plans.

EDC has broad applications in commercial and scientific sectors, and the advancement of AI technology is a crucial tool for Canada’s continued growth and economic competitiveness.

Autonomous trucks

Tenstorrent designs advanced chips to accelerate artificial intelligence. It also develops high-performance servers, key to handling large-scale complex AI applications and research. In addition, it licenses its technology to governments and companies around the world. This strategy responds to the booming demand for customized chips and the growing interest in sovereign computing power.

Waabi is leading the development of generative AI applied to the physical world. Its first focus is on autonomous transportation. The company plans to launch fully autonomous trucks on public roads in 2025. With its AV2.0 approach, it marks a technological leap. It thus paves the way for more sectors to adopt AI-driven solutions.