Canada, often considered the birthplace of AI, is home to 10% of the world's top-tier AI researchers, and is also the country with the highest AI talent concentration. With the support of government investments, a talented research ecosystem, and innovative companies, Canada has established itself as a leader in artificial intelligence. This year, at the ninth edition of VivaTech, we'll be celebrating Canada as the Country of the Year.
Innovation, Investment, & Impact
While the Canadian tech ecosystem is particularly strong in AI, they are also up-and-coming in data infrastructure, with a favorable environment for the construction of high-performance data centers and an abundant supply of clean energy to power infrastructure with a low carbon footprint.
Scale AI, Canada's Global AI Innovation Cluster, is the unifying force behind the Canadian AI ecosystem and has already funded over 130 applied AI projects totaling over $700 million CAD in investments. With the goal of building a collaborative ecosystem that profits the Canadian economy, Scale AI supports research, startups, and industry collaborations to accelerate AI adoption in logistics, manufacturing, construction, healthcare, and related sectors.
Tech in Canada is also supported by provincial organizations like Quebec Tech and Invest Ontario, who work to strengthen the Canadian innovation ecosystem and attract foreign investment.
Sectors & Startups
This year at VivaTech, more than 500 delegates from over 170 Canadian technology and AI organizations will showcase their solutions, shining in sectors where innovation meets impact.
Artificial intelligence, climate tech, and health tech are three key areas where Canada plans to standout at VivaTech. Let's take a look at these sectors and some of their leading startups.
Artificial Intelligence
Canada’s AI ecosystem is uniquely collaborative, driven by a strong triangle of startups, large companies, and researchers. At the center of it all, several research institutes and Scale AI play a key role in unifying the ecosystem and fostering innovation through partnerships with local AI product and solution providers.
This model has helped Canada emerge as a global AI powerhouse, particularly for local startups, supported by top-tier research institutions, robust government backing, and a culture of innovation. With hubs in cities like Montreal and Toronto, Canadian startups leverage world-class talent and cutting-edge research from institutions such as Mila – Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute, the Vector Institute, and Amii – Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute.
Government initiatives, including the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy, which was the first national AI strategy in the world, provide funding and incentives, helping AI-driven startups excel in fields like healthcare, finance, and autonomous systems. With a focus on ethical AI and groundbreaking innovations, Canada continues to be a prime destination for AI startups to thrive.
Cohere
Cohere is Canada’s leading developer of large language models (LLMs) and a key player in the global generative AI space. The company is focused on serving enterprises rather than consumers, building LLMs that can be used to answer questions, summarize documents, or provide better search results. Cohere began as a startup and has quickly risen to global prominence, competing with players like OpenAI and Anthropic and drawing investment from major tech players like NVIDIA, Oracle, and Salesforce.
Climate Tech & Sustainable Innovation
With their commitment to clean energy and supportive government policies, Canada's climate tech and sustainable innovation startups are flourishing. Startups are providing solutions involving renewable energy and carbon capture to target pressing environmental challenges.
This growing sector is supported by a strong network of green investment and public initiatives, helping these startups scale their technologies and contribute to Canada’s broader sustainability goals. As global demand for climate solutions rises, Canadian startups are well-positioned to lead in building a more sustainable future.
Whale Seeker
Whale Seeker is a Canadian startup based in Montreal, which uses AI to revolutionize marine mammal monitoring by making it faster, more accurate, and accessible. Their platform can detect whales in aerial and satellite imagery up to 25 times faster than traditional, manual methods. This helps prevent ship strikes, supports sustainable fishing, and aids conservation efforts. Whale Seeker is recognized globally by the Solar Impulse Foundation and UNESCO's International Research Centre on Artificial Intelligence for their use of scalable tech solutions to target environmental issues.
Health Tech
Canada’s health tech ecosystem includes many startups and companies aiming to make healthcare more efficient. The ecosystem includes startups working on digital health, telemedicine, AI-powered diagnostics, wearable tech, and more.
AAVAA
AAVAA is a Canadian startup working on smart, non-invasive wearables to enhance accessibility for individuals with disabilities. These devices read brain and bio-signals to enable hands-free, silent control of digital devices. Their technology can be embedded into devices like headphones and glasses to allow users to use cues like eye movements, or even just attention, to do things such as amplify a voice in a noisy room.
See You in June!
Get your pass for VivaTech today, and don't miss speakers like Martin Kon, President of Cohere, and Sasha Luccioni, AI Climate Lead at Hugging Face.
