This week Bombardier signed a multi-year, multimillion-dollar AI deal with St. John's CoLab to use its AI software for the design of business jets. Cohere acquires Germany's Aleph Alpha to double down on sovereign AI capabilities, with the combined firm's HQ remaining in Canada. BDC's $300M StrongNorth defence VC made its first investment, in Landing Zones Canada.

Highlighted Deals

  • Bombardier picks CoLab for AI-driven aircraft design (The Logic, Apr 23). Multi-year, multimillion-dollar contract for CoLab's AI-powered design-review software, used by Bombardier engineering teams on business jet programs. CoLab is based in St. John's, NL. Read
  • Cohere and Aleph Alpha merge (The Logic, Apr 24). Cohere acquires Germany's Aleph Alpha with backing from the Canadian and German governments. Combined entity keeps its headquarters in Toronto with Aidan Gomez as CEO, and runs sovereign AI workloads on Schwarz Group's Stackit cloud. Read

Capital stack

  • BDC StrongNorth's first investment: Landing Zones Canada (BDC, Apr 20). BDC's $300M StrongNorth Defence Fund made its inaugural investment in Landing Zones Canada, an Ontario-based stratospheric uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) company building persistent surveillance and communications platforms. Read
  • NGen commits $62.7M to Canadian AI, robotics, advanced manufacturing (The AI Insider, Apr 20). Next Generation Manufacturing Canada announced $62.7M across Canadian AI, robotics, and advanced-manufacturing projects at Hannover Messe, alongside Minister of Innovation Mélanie Joly and a Canadian delegation of more than 100 companies. Read
  • A&K Robotics closes $8M Series A (BetaKit, Apr 21). Vancouver-based A&K Robotics raised $8M CAD to expand its self-driving passenger pod deployments at North American airports, with active pilots already running at YVR and Winnipeg. Read

Defence

  • Canadian Space Launch Act (Bill C-28) introduced (Transport Canada, Apr 21). Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon tabled Bill C-28, Canada's first legislative framework for commercial space launches, paired with a $200M, 10-year Department of National Defence lease at Spaceport Nova Scotia. Read
  • Quantum Industry Canada launches QUANTUM NOW | DEFSEC (QIC, Apr 19). New initiative slotting quantum computing, communications, and sensing into the Defence Industrial Strategy's Build-Partner-Buy framework, with a Canadian-supplier pipeline aimed at DND and allied defence buyers. Read

Policy

  • Ottawa should weight Canadian-owned software in federal contracts (Policy Options, Apr 21). Op-ed calling on the federal government to require software vendors bidding on contracts to disclose ownership and parent jurisdiction, and to weight Canadian-owned software alongside price in bid evaluation. Read
  • CCI's Patrick Searle pushes back on US economic advisory committee for excluding founders (BetaKit, Apr 22). Council of Canadian Innovators CEO Patrick Searle publicly criticized the makeup of Canada's new US economic advisory committee for omitting tech founders. Build Canada and the Canadian SHIELD Institute echoed the critique. Read
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