TELUS, in collaboration with NVIDIA, has announced that it plans to build Canada's leading Sovereign artificial intelligence (AI) Factory—a powerful and highly secure facility that will give Canadian businesses and researchers access to cutting-edge technology—helping them develop smarter AI products, streamline operations, and stay competitive in a fast-changing world. The facility will provide supercomputers and software needed to train AI while keeping data safe within Canada's borders.
By summer 2025, TELUS plans to deploy NVIDIA's latest-generation, industry-leading graphics processing units (GPUs), following NVIDIA Cloud Partner (NCP) Reference Architectures and software stack, at its data center in Quebec, with expansion planned at its facility in British Columbia.
The Sovereign AI Factory will leverage TELUS' high-speed, ultra-low-latency, fiber-optic network with sustainable data centers powered by 99% renewable energy sources to deliver AI as a Service (AIaaS). TELUS' world-class data centers will be three times more energy efficient for excess power usage than the industry average, using significantly less electricity to power AI computing workloads. The facilities also rely on natural cooling, cutting water consumption by more than 75% compared to traditional data centers. With these efficiency measures in place, TELUS' Sovereign AI Factory will be one of the most sustainable AI-ready data centers in the world.
NVIDIA's latest Hopper- and Blackwell-based supercomputers will power the AI Factory, enabling faster AI model training, fine-tuning, and advanced inference capabilities. TELUS will be among the first to introduce these accelerated computing platforms in Canada, playing a crucial role in the country's AI ecosystem. TELUS' Sovereign AI Factory will provide businesses and researchers with the AI computing power required to scale, boost productivity, and power innovation. By using this secure, high-performance AI Factory, Canadian businesses can develop local solutions to local challenges, ensuring Canadians can build, train, scale, and deploy AI in a secure environment compliant with Canada's security standards and privacy regulations.
"Canada has made AI a national priority, investing in talent, research, and commercialization. The TELUS Sovereign AI Factory now provides the infrastructure for this innovation to scale, empowering Canadian businesses, startups, and researchers with access to cutting-edge AI infrastructure to turn their bold ideas into real-world breakthroughs—and now, they don't have to look beyond our borders to get it," said Hesham Fahmy, Chief Information Officer at TELUS.
"TELUS has been at the forefront of AI adoption for years, embedding it across our networks and operations to enhance services and drive efficiency,” Fahmy added. “With the Sovereign AI Factory, we're now giving our customers the accelerated computing power needed to grow, compete globally, and shape the future of AI, right here in Canada. Collaborating with NVIDIA gives us the advanced computing capabilities needed to drive Canadian AI innovation while strengthening Canadian digital independence."
"Sovereign AI infrastructure is critical for every nation to advance their society and economy, while preserving their own data, enabling them to drive a local intelligence revolution with global technology advancements," said Ronnie Vasishta, Senior Vice President of Telecom at NVIDIA. "TELUS is now the first North American Service Provider to become an official NVIDIA Cloud Partner, combining their advanced network and secure cloud infrastructure with the latest NVIDIA AI platforms, and empowering Canadian businesses to innovate at the pace of AI."
The Sovereign AI Factory marks the next step in TELUS' long-standing leadership in AI, reinforcing its broader commitment to responsible AI adoption, innovation, and productivity growth in Canada. As the first Canadian telecom to sign Canada's voluntary AI Code of Conduct in 2023, TELUS has consistently received industry recognition for its dedication to transparency, fairness, and accountability in AI development.
TELUS was also the first company in the world to earn a Privacy by Design certification (ISO 31700-1) for its generative AI-powered customer support tool. As one of only 20 organizations globally to participate in the OECD Pilot Framework for Advanced AI Systems, TELUS has influenced global AI governance, contributing key insights to the G7 Working Group on Data & Technology. Additionally, TELUS has been recognized by the Responsible AI Institute for embedding ethical AI practices into its systems, setting a benchmark for responsible AI innovation in Canada and beyond.
With this latest milestone, TELUS is investing in Canada's AI future—creating jobs, empowering businesses, and ensuring we lead the world in the new AI-driven economy. This isn't just infrastructure; it's a commitment to building a stronger, more competitive Canada in the digital age.
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