Bell Canada to build sovereign AI platform at Merritt data centre with Cohere, Hypertec, BUZZ HPC
BCE•Bell Canada, Cohere, Hypertec and BUZZ HPC agreed on a collaborative AI infrastructure deal to build sovereign Canadian AI capabilities. The partners will leverage Bell AI Fabric’s Merritt data centre, Hypertec’s Canadian-made hardware and NVIDIA acceleration to support production-grade AI workloads.
1. Collaboration Objectives
Bell Canada has joined forces with Cohere, Hypertec and BUZZ HPC to create a fully Canadian AI stack, combining connectivity, data centres, compute and enterprise-grade models. The agreement aims to shift organizations from AI experimentation to large-scale production under Canadian jurisdiction, reinforcing digital sovereignty and economic resilience.
2. Infrastructure Contributions
Under the deal, Bell will provide data centre capacity and high-speed connectivity from its purpose-built Merritt, British Columbia facility. Hypertec will supply Canadian-manufactured GPU servers optimized for AI workloads, BUZZ HPC will deliver the AI-native cloud layer on NVIDIA’s DSX platform, and Cohere will operate its foundation models and enterprise solutions on the joint infrastructure.
3. Strategic Impact for Bell
This partnership strengthens Bell AI Fabric’s role as a hub for sovereign AI, offering end-to-end services from hardware to professional support. As demand grows for secure, locally governed AI, Bell stands to capture enterprise and government contracts seeking high-performance, compliant AI infrastructure.
