Earlier this year, we reported on Telus unveiling $70 billion earmarked for “bold, future-focused technology investments.”
This included the launch of a Sovereign AI Factory in partnership with global chip titan NVIDIA with an aim to provide Canadian businesses, startups, and researchers with cutting-edge AI infrastructure, helping them develop advanced AI models while keeping sensitive data within the country’s borders.
This week, the B.C.-based telecom giant announced that Ernst & Young is deploying an advanced agentic AI platform on the Sovereign AI Factory.
Designed to make advanced AI more accessible without requiring technical expertise, EY’s FlexiGenAI allows users to build and deploy AI solutions while incorporating built-in oversight features, audit trails, and privacy controls that meet requirements of public sector environments.
The platform leverages NVIDIA’s computing to deliver enterprise-grade capabilities with enhanced security and performance specifically designed for government and business-critical workloads, according to Hesham Fahmy, who serves Telus as Chief Information Officer.
“Canadian organizations need the most sophisticated AI solutions available, but they also need absolute confidence that their data and innovations remain under Canadian control,” Fahmy says.
“By running EY’s FlexiGenAI on our Sovereign AI Factory, we’re empowering Canadian businesses and government agencies to deliver what matters most: breakthrough AI solutions, better outcomes for citizens, and competitive advantages in the global economy—while ensuring every computation, analysis, and insight stays in Canada, on infrastructure owned and operated by Canadians,” he continued.
Biren Agnihotri, who functions as chief of technology for EY Canada, believes that “Running EY’s FlexiGenAI agentic AI platform on TELUS’ Sovereign AI Factory infrastructure unlocks unprecedented opportunities for governments and public sector agencies across Canada to accelerate their AI transformation, regardless of where they are on their journey.”
“FlexiGenAI is a modular, Canadian-built solution that streamlines the deployment of autonomous agents to support policy analysis, expedite regulatory processes, and elevate public service delivery,” Agnihotri added, “all while upholding the rigorous security and data sovereignty standards essential for success in an AI-powered economy.”
“This is the foundational infrastructure Canada needs to lead in the age of AI,” he stated.
Telus this summer published a report, “Human-centric AI: Perspectives on trust and the future of AI,” which found that while 80% of Canadians have been tapping into AI over the last year—and 74% believing the tech improves how they complete tasks—just 1% trust AI systems to work independently without human oversight.
Operating in more than 45 countries, Telus generates $20B in revenue from 20 million customers.
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