HIVE Digital Technologies (NASDAQ: HIVE) (TSE: HIVE) has secured a three-year AI infrastructure contract valued at approximately USD$220 million through its subsidiary BUZZ High Performance Computing Inc., advancing a major sovereign artificial intelligence initiative in Canada.
The Thursday agreement brings together Bell Canada, BCE Inc. (TSE: BCE) (NYSE: BCE), AI company Cohere Inc. and BUZZ HPC to create a Canadian-based AI platform for enterprise and government customers. Consequently, the partnership aims to provide secure domestic computing infrastructure, connectivity and AI services while keeping data within Canada.
The companies said the arrangement combines Bell AI Fabric’s national data centre and network platform, Cohere’s enterprise AI models and BUZZ HPC’s GPU cloud infrastructure into a single technology stack.
As part of the agreement, BUZZ HPC has acquired NVIDIA-powered computing systems featuring 2,304 NVIDIA Grace Blackwell graphics processing units. Additionally, the deployment includes NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 rack-scale systems connected through NVIDIA Quantum InfiniBand networking technology.
BUZZ HPC plans to install the infrastructure at Bell’s purpose-built data centre in Merritt, British Columbia. The facility will serve as the computing backbone for Cohere’s AI models and enterprise applications used by corporate and government clients across Canada.
The deployment represents one of the country’s largest sovereign AI infrastructure projects to date. Furthermore, the companies said the platform will operate entirely within Canadian borders and under Canadian regulatory standards.
Sovereign AI refers to artificial intelligence systems developed and operated within a country’s jurisdiction. Governments increasingly view such infrastructure as strategically important because it allows sensitive data to remain under domestic control.
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HIVE will buy NVIDIA systems as part of proceeds
Canada has invested heavily in AI research over the past decade. However, many industry observers have argued the country lacks sufficient computing infrastructure to commercialize its innovations at scale.
HIVE said it will fund the purchase of the NVIDIA systems using part of the proceeds from a USD$115 million convertible note financing completed in April 2026. Meanwhile, Canadian technology manufacturer Hypertec will oversee hardware procurement, integration, installation and ongoing support for the project.
The infrastructure will rely on HIVE’s renewable-energy-powered data centre operations. Additionally, the company said its AI facilities are designed to maintain low power usage effectiveness.
Bell and Cohere will use the computing platform to offer AI services to customers that require domestic data storage and processing. Consequently, the project aligns with federal efforts to strengthen Canada’s technological independence and data security.
Executive chairman Frank Holmes said Canada has long produced world-class AI talent. However, it has lacked the industrial infrastructure needed to scale those innovations domestically. He described the partnership as an important step toward converting Canada’s AI ambitions into productive assets.
Holmes also said BUZZ HPC serves as the computing layer supporting a broader sovereign AI ecosystem. Furthermore, he argued companies building domestic AI infrastructure today could benefit from long-term growth opportunities as demand for advanced computing capacity expands.
The agreement strengthens BUZZ HPC’s position in Canada’s emerging AI cloud market. Additionally, the platform integrates connectivity, data centres, computing resources, cybersecurity and professional services into a unified national offering for enterprise and government customers.
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