TORONTO — Telecom giant Bell and software firm Coveo are teaming up to sell AI tools to Canadian governments and businesses in regulated industries. 

The two companies are looking to capitalize on the public sector’s push to adopt AI, and a growing emphasis on using so-called sovereign technology amid geopolitical tensions. “The future is, ‘Nobody can turn us off,’” said Coveo executive chair Louis Têtu.

The Montreal-based firm’s technology sits between AI models and clients’ data, helping generative tools give better responses and powering customer support systems. Bell is already a client. So are the likes of Adobe, BRP, Clinique and Salesforce. 

Under the terms of the deal, Bell’s Ateko consulting division will have the exclusive right to resell Coveo’s products to government clients in Canada. Coveo eventually plans to run software for shared customers on the telecom firm’s AI infrastructure. Bell is building several new data centres, and aims to generate $1.5 billion in revenue in 2028 by leasing space in the facilities as well as from other technology services. 

The public sector hasn’t been able to sufficiently modernize their technology systems, according to Ateko CEO Guillaume Bazinet. By selling their services together, Bell and Coveo can “truly accelerate AI adoption,” he claimed.

Coveo’s AI-powered software could help departments run self-service tools for citizens, Têtu said, giving the example of a system that answers people’s tax questions instead of keeping them on the phone with the Canada Revenue Agency. The firm hasn’t landed any federal contracts since announcing the agreement with Ottawa in December. “The government right now is consolidating its requirements, and there’s a lot of similarities across agencies,” Têtu said. 

Bell has a similar partnership with Cohere, the Toronto-based maker of AI models. Both Cohere and Coveo have signed non-binding agreements with the federal government to test their technology for public-service applications. 

The federal government in particular wants to use AI to make the public service more productive, and has promised to buy more products and services from Canadian firms. Between its infrastructure and partnerships, Bell is building a “full Canadian sovereign stack,” said Bazinet.

Ottawa is still defining what it means by “sovereignty,” and how it will enforce or popularize that as it looks to expand domestic AI compute capacity by backing data centre projects. Bazinet said Bell takes the term to mean ensuring infrastructure and software is owned and operated by Canadians, and that the data running through them stays within the country. 

Têtu said sovereignty means no other state can deny Canada access to and use of critical technology. The issue is coming up in some conversations with potential customers, but hasn’t yet helped Coveo close any deals. “Invariably, it will be a requirement,” he claimed, adding that he expects large firms in sectors like financial services, energy and infrastructure to be increasingly concerned about sovereignty.

Other Canadian companies are looking to ride the AI and sovereignty waves. Telus has entered the AI infrastructure business, and is working with OpenText on applications. Four other firms—Aptum, eStruxture Data Centres, Hypertec and ThinkOn—have teamed up to sell sovereign compute capacity to government departments and agencies.

Coveo chose Bell because it has the most advanced sovereign capabilities and infrastructure so far, according to Têtu. Bazinet in turn said Bell is seeking more tie-ups like the ones it has made with Cohere and Coveo as it looks to expand its sovereign AI stack.