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Investing.com -- Bell Canada, or BCE Inc (TSX:BCE), has unveiled a multibillion-dollar initiative to create the nation’s largest artificial intelligence computing network, establishing a strategic foothold in an increasingly competitive global AI landscape. The new project, dubbed Bell AI Fabric, will provide up to 500 megawatts of capacity across six data centers, all powered by hydroelectric energy in British Columbia.
The first data center in the network will be operational in June 2025 in Kamloops, marking the beginning of a nationwide rollout aimed at supporting Canadian companies, academic institutions, and public bodies. In its announcement, Bell positioned the initiative as a long-term commitment to enabling secure, sovereign, and sustainable AI development.
"Bell’s AI Fabric will ensure that Canadian businesses, researchers, and public institutions can access high-performance, sovereign and environmentally responsible AI computing services," said Mirko Bibic, President and CEO of BCE and Bell Canada. "This is transformational for our customers, for Canada and for Bell."
Partnerships are central to the infrastructure buildout, with U.S.-based chipmaker Groq selected as Bell’s technology partner. Groq’s Language Processing Units (LPUs) are expected to provide faster, more cost-effective inference performance for applications involving large language models, the engine behind generative AI.
"Groq’s advanced LPU technology, combined with Bell’s extensive fibre infrastructure, is setting a new standard in AI inference," said Jonathan Ross, CEO and Founder of Groq. "We’re excited to bring these capabilities to Canada, significantly enhancing performance and affordability for AI-driven applications."
The initiative also includes a major academic collaboration with Thompson Rivers University, where a 26-megawatt facility will be integrated with the campus district energy system to recycle waste heat. The university says the partnership will give students and faculty access to world-class computing capabilities and real-world AI training environments.
"Thompson Rivers University is proud to partner in this groundbreaking initiative, positioning Kamloops and British Columbia at the forefront of sustainable AI innovation," said Shannon Wagner, Interim Provost and VP Academic at TRU. Future data centers are in advanced planning and are expected to bring more than 400 megawatts of capacity, further solidifying Canada’s position in the high-density AI compute space.