TELUS opens Canada's first fully Sovereign AI Factory
Highly secure facility powered by NVIDIA and HPE delivers immediate access to cutting-edge AI compute power for Canadian businesses, researchers and public institutions
100% Canadian-controlled and operated with data sovereignty across multiple layers of security, data residence and operational control
League, Accenture and OpenText advance AI innovation in Canada powered by TELUS' Sovereign AI Factory
Powered by 99% renewable energy and TELUS' global-leading PureFibre network
MONTREAL, Sept. 24, 2025 /CNW/ - TELUS today announced the opening of Canada's first fully sovereign AI factory, in Rimouski, Quebec, marking a historic milestone in the nation's stride towards technological independence. The facility, accelerated by latest-generation, industry-leading NVIDIA graphic processing units (GPUs) and state-of-the-art computing infrastructure designed by HPE, is now operational and serving customers – unlocking advanced AI capabilities for Canadian businesses, researchers and innovators while storing data within our national borders, in a data centre under Canadian control.
“Today marks a defining milestone for Canada's digital future," said Darren Entwistle, President and CEO of TELUS. "Indeed, with the launch of our nation's first fully Sovereign AI Factory in Rimouski, we are maximizing Canadian autonomy over sensitive data. Businesses, researchers and governments should not have to rely on foreign-controlled systems to advance their AI ambitions. Today, we are helping to achieve that: by delivering advanced compute power within data centres built, owned and operated by Canadians, TELUS is safeguarding our data, protecting our sovereignty and empowering our economy. From Rimouski today and Kamloops tomorrow, we are creating the backbone for Canada's productivity, competitiveness and global leadership in the digital era. TELUS' pioneering AI factories leverage the latest-generation technology from industry leaders like NVIDIA and HPE, and are powered by the billions of dollars we have already invested in our world-leading PureFibre network. Importantly, TELUS is providing the secure, sovereign foundation our country needs to create made-in-Canada solutions, accelerate growth and secure our place in the digital economy for generations to come."
TELUS' Sovereign AI Factory will empower organizations with total, end-to-end development capabilities to build new AI models (model training), customize existing ones for specific needs (fine-tuning) and deploy them in business operations (inferencing). Through the new Sovereign AI Factory, TELUS – the first North American service provider to join the NVIDIA Cloud Partner (NCP) network – and its customers have access to NVIDIA's most advanced technology, proven high-performance reference architecture and software stack that can dramatically reduce AI deployment time and costs.
"TELUS' new sovereign AI initiative is a welcome addition to Canada's growing digital infrastructure," said The Honourable Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation. "Expanding data and compute capacity here at home supports the government's vision for AI-driven productivity and competitiveness. By keeping data and compute within Canada, TELUS is contributing to responsible innovation and strengthening our broader economic objectives—alongside the many other partners building critical data centres across the country."
"Sovereign AI infrastructure enables countries to innovate on their own terms while protecting their most valuable data," said Ronnie Vasishta, Senior Vice President of Telecom at NVIDIA. "TELUS is bringing this vision to reality in Canada, building a robust platform combining the most advanced NVIDIA AI technology with their world-class infrastructure in a truly sovereign environment. This AI factory will provide Canadian businesses with the capabilities to develop AI solutions, accelerate time-to-market and compete on the global stage."
"To accelerate AI innovation and drive a positive societal impact, nation states and public entities will need a purpose-built sovereign solution that delivers the scale, performance and governance to unlock growth while protecting data and IP," said Trish Damkroger, Senior Vice President and General Manager, HPC & AI Infrastructure Solutions, HPE. "TELUS' investment in a Sovereign AI Factory will empower Canada's public and commercial sectors to innovate in the era of AI and we are honoured to collaborate with them on delivering the critical infrastructure and services to advance their missions."
League, Accenture and OpenText advance AI innovation in Canada powered by TELUS' Sovereign AI Factory
TELUS' fully sovereign platform will empower leading organizations and innovators to develop breakthrough solutions for Canadian enterprises.
League, Canada's leading healthcare consumer experience provider, will run its comprehensive suite of AI-powered healthcare solutions using the TELUS Sovereign AI Factory. By leveraging TELUS' highly secure, Canadian-controlled AI infrastructure, League will be able to deliver enhanced personalized healthcare experiences to millions of Canadian users, improving patient outcomes while storing sensitive healthcare data within Canada's borders.
Additionally, Accenture will develop and deploy industry-specific solutions on the TELUS Sovereign AI Factory platform, accelerating AI adoption across its Canadian clients in sovereignty-sensitive, highly regulated sectors including public services, healthcare, critical infrastructure and financial services. This strategic collaboration will provide Canadian businesses with access to a full spectrum of AI enablement services – from strategy to deployment – while keeping intellectual property and data on Canadian soil.
OpenText will leverage TELUS' AI Factory to deliver sovereign, more secure and scalable cloud AI solutions through its Aviator AI platform, serving over 1,600 Canadian enterprise and government customers with enterprise-grade cloud computing and AI that provides data residency, security and compliance.
Building Canada's AI leadership
The Sovereign AI Factory marks the next step in TELUS' longstanding leadership in AI, reinforcing its commitment to responsible AI innovation, productivity and economic growth in Canada and building upon its complete range of AI solutions – including Fuel iX, an award-winning enterprise-grade Generative AI platform.
"Canadian AI research has always been world-leading, but access to truly sovereign, high-performance computing infrastructure has been a critical gap," said Valerie Pisano, President and CEO, Mila – Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute. "TELUS' Sovereign AI Factory provides the Canadian AI community with the computational resources needed to advance breakthrough research while keeping our work within Canadian borders. This sovereign infrastructure enables us to translate Canadian AI innovations into real-world applications that benefit our economy and society."
Powered by 99% renewable energy, the facility operates with three times greater energy efficiency than industry average and reduces water consumption by over 75% through innovative natural cooling systems – proving that cutting-edge AI capabilities and environmental stewardship go hand in hand.
To learn more about TELUS' sovereign AI capabilities and how our robust suite of AI services can accelerate your organization's AI journey, visit telus.com/AIFactory.
About TELUS
TELUS Corporation (TELUS) (TSX: T, NYSE: TU) is a world-leading communications technology company operating in more than 45 countries and generating over $20 billion in annual revenue with more than 20 million customer connections through our advanced suite of broadband services for consumers, businesses and the public sector. We are committed to leveraging our technology to enable remarkable human outcomes. TELUS is passionate about putting our customers and communities first, leading the way globally in client service excellence and social capitalism. Our TELUS Health business is enhancing 157 million lives across 200 countries and territories through innovative preventive medicine and well-being technologies. Our TELUS Agriculture & Consumer Goods business utilizes digital technologies and data insights to optimize the connection between producers and consumers. Guided by our enduring 'give where we live' philosophy, TELUS, our team members and retirees have contributed $1.8 billion in cash, in-kind contributions, time and programs including 2.4 million days of service since 2000, earning us the distinction of the world's most giving company.
We're always building Canada.
Would be great if they can link it to NVIDIA building a form of manufacturing capacity in Canada.
There are endless areas where US & Canada can collaborate on AI & Data Centres.
Canada's abundant cheap energy, critical minerals, proximity just off US borders & cold weather are all perfect ingredients for massive US Canada collab on Data Centres & AI.