The spending watchdog’s estimate of what it will cost to build a high-speed rail line from Toronto to Quebec City is somewhat higher than the $60 billion to $90 billion estimate from the Via Rail subsidiary in charge of the project. The PBO acknowledged that there’s enormous uncertainty in any estimate, with no route yet decided and a single kilometre of track costing tens of millions of dollars for planning, land acquisition and construction. (The Logic)
The banks joined competitors RBC, TD and Scotiabank—as well as the Bank of Canada—as participants in the international initiative to explore how blockchain technology could make cross-border payments cheaper and easier. (The Logic)
The economy has proven more resilient than expected amid the U.S. trade war, says the latest quarterly outlook from Deloitte, but President Donald Trump’s new 50 per cent tariffs on many Canadian goods has the firm forecasting slower growth for 2027. (The Logic)
The Santa Clara, Calif.-headquartered chip giant announced the all-stock transaction after markets closed Monday. World Labs CEO Fei-Fei Li will become AMD’s chief scientist, and the team will keep building AI models. (The Logic)
The Canadian subsidiary of Ohio-based Cleveland-Cliffs will wind down its cold-rolled and coated steel operations at the Hamilton Works plant beginning Oct. 9. (CBC News, The Logic)
The Richmond, B.C.-based company said it agreed to a term sheet with an existing investor to raise money, after its planned merger with MAK Acquisition Corp.—a special purpose acquisition company led by former Dye & Durham CEO Matthew Proud—was jeopardized. (The Logic)
The financing values the Toronto-based startup at US$1 billion, a source told The Globe and Mail. Other investors in the round reportedly included Founders Fund, Quiet Capital, Modern Capital, Golden Ventures, Panache Ventures and the Abu Dhabi Investment Council. Biossil CEO Anthony Mouchantaf confirmed the story via LinkedIn. (The Globe and Mail, The Logic)
The investment in the drone maker is coming equally from Unusual Machines, which makes drone components like motors and control chips, and an unnamed investment fund. In the announcement, Draganfly CEO Cameron Chell said the deal “is about positioning, not size,” supporting its place in the U.S. defence ecosystem and giving Unusual Machines access to Draganfly’s markets. (The Logic)
Automating the research and development of AI systems could “radically accelerate” the technology’s progress, bringing big benefits but also risks like loss of human control or significant geopolitical upheaval, according to a paper published Monday. The 22 authors include Canadian AI pioneers Geoffrey Hinton and Yoshua Bengio, prominent Vector Institute researchers Sheila McIlraith and Jeff Clune, the chief scientists of OpenAI and Microsoft, and an Anthropic co-founder. (The Logic)
MAK Acquisition Corp. filed a notice to the last-mile delivery company Thursday, claiming it violated its end of a reverse takeover agreement after its losses exceeded a limit set in the deal. (The Logic)