Current status: Closed
The AI Compute Access Fund is not currently accepting applications. The most recent Call for Proposals closed at 11:59pm ET on July 31, 2025 and has received a high degree of interest and proposals representing projects from across Canada that span multiple industries. Review and assessment of applications is ongoing.
The AI Compute Access Fund offers financial support to help Canadian small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) access the compute power they need to scale and commercialize their innovative AI projects.
Please review this guide to understand and prepare for the program's application process.
Table of contents
Deadlines
The current Call for Proposals closed at 11:59PM ET on July 31, 2025. The team may contact applicants for clarification or missing information needed for the assessment of your proposal.
In this case, you will have a set number of business days, as outlined in the email from the program team, to provide required information before your file will be closed.
Assessment criteria
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) will assess the proposals on their viability, impact, benefits, and ability to achieve program objectives. Your organization's capacity and experience to implement the proposal will also be evaluated.
Factors being assessed include, but are not limited to:
- Market potential
- Management capability
- Financial capacity
- Sufficient economic, innovation and public benefits to Canada
- Technology readiness
- Degree of alignment with departmental or Government of Canada priorities
If you are successful
If your full application is successful, a Contribution Agreement will be signed by both parties, and you can start claiming eligible costs. The agreement will outline the unique terms of the financial contribution for your project. Regular check-ins will happen to see how your project is progressing and to ensure compliance with the Contribution Agreement. At the end of the project, you will be asked to provide a final summary report.
Note: Recipients may collaborate with other parties on the project, but the Recipient will be solely responsible for meeting all objectives in the Contribution Agreement.
Before you apply
We ask that you take time before submitting your application to:
- Read the Program Guide
- Prepare your documents:
Mandatory documents:
- A list of your Board of Directors, including names, titles, residency, and relevant affiliations
- Your two most recent annual financial statements
- A detailed project budget and list of key team members, partner(s) and/or funding organizations involved in this project using this template (XLSX, 70 KB)
- Your commercialization plan
- A copy of your compute service agreement(s). If you currently do not have a compute service contract or are in the process of obtaining one, you will need to provide a copy before signing a Contribution Agreement.
Optional documents to support your application:
- Your project plan (may be included in commercialization plan)
- Market or needs analysis (may be included in commercialization plan)
- Letter of support from a referral partner
Note:
By submitting an application, you confirm that you have not, and neither has any person on your behalf, engaged or employed any person (other than an employee) for the purposes of obtaining AI Compute Access Fund funding; and paid, or agreed to pay that person, a commission, contingency or success fee or any other consideration (whether monetary or otherwise) that is dependent upon the applicant receiving AI Compute Access Fund funding.
A recipient who is found to breach this agreement may render their application ineligible.
Application sections
The application will consist of nine sections. Prepare the information below to submit a strong application.
Business information & eligibility review
In these sections, you will review the information about your business and eligibility information provided in your Statement of Interest. If any of the information is incorrect or has changed, you will have an opportunity to change it by contacting the program.
Optional information about the diversity of your Board of Directors
In this section, you can provide information about your Board of Directors. This information may be shared as aggregated data with departmental officials and other Government of Canada institutions responsible for tracking and reporting on these demographics. There are no consequences if you don't provide your demographical information in your application.
Statement of work
In this section, you will provide:
- A project summary of your AI innovation, describing how the technology and product or service works, how it will advance or impact your field or industry, and outlining the anticipated compute costs.
- A list of objectives and key results that your project aims to achieve, including targeted completion dates, and an explanation of the activities that will help your project reach those objectives.
- Project budget details, including annual compute costs and other funding you've received. Reminder: You'll need to use the template provided (XLSX, 70 KB)
- Key project milestones and deliverables for your project, including a brief description, the current status, and the expected completion date for each.
- Information about any partners involved in the delivery of your project.
Strong applications will include:
- A clear, detailed description of your project, how it works, and its impact on the industry and country.
- A thorough budget with logical financial projections that demonstrates a capacity to complete the project
- Detailed information about the project management team capability and experience required to deliver on the stated outcomes.
Project characteristics
In this section, you will confirm whether you have one or multiple compute service contract(s), as well as data centre information. If you currently do not have a compute service contract or are in the process of obtaining one, you will need to provide a copy before the final assessment of your application.
Business capability
In this section, you will provide:
- A description of how your project uniquely addresses a specific need or problem.
- Information about who will benefit from your project, including sector and location.
- An assessment of your current Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of your project, including information about any trial deployments and steps required before commercialization, and where you expect to be at the conclusion of your project.
- Risk assessment with mitigation strategies, including a description of any human review processes included in the AI model to mitigate risks or mistakes.
Strong applications will include:
- Identification and assessment of competitors
- An explanation of productivity/efficiency savings
- Thorough identification of risks with clear mitigation strategies
- A commercialization plan that demonstrates your project's feasibility through a clear path to market, including key milestones, target customers, competitive advantages, and strategies for scaling and sustaining the project.
Project benefits
In this section, you will have an opportunity to describe the benefits of your project. The benefits will fall into one or more of the following three categories:
- Economic benefits, including impact on Canadian jobs and industries.
- Innovation benefits, including new industrial processes and technology.
- Public benefits, including public impact and contributions.
Strong applications will include:
- Significant, broad, and clearly defined economic benefits and outcomes. Include the magnitude of the project's impact, the time frame, and any risks.
- A clear understanding of Canadian and international AI regulations.
Documents and additional information
In this section, you will need to upload any documents relevant to your application.
Mandatory documents:
- A list of your Board of Directors, including names, titles, residency, and relevant affiliations
- Your two most recent financial statements
- A detailed project budget and list of key team members, partner(s) and/or funding organizations involved in this project using this template (XLSX, 70 KB)
- Commercialization plan that describes the technology, steps, resources, and strategies needed to bring a product or service to market and achieve commercial success
- A copy of your compute service agreement(s). If you currently do not have a compute service contract or are in the process of obtaining one, you will need to provide a copy before signing your Contribution Agreement
Optional documents to support your application:
- A project plan that outlines the objectives, tasks, timelines, risks, resources, and processes required to successfully complete a project
- Market or needs analysis including growth rate, willingness to pay, regulatory obstacles, distribution channels, substitute products, barriers to entry (may be included in commercialization plan)
- Letter of support from a referral partner
Questions?
More detailed information about assessment and selection, signing a Contribution Agreement, and managing your project is available in our Program Guide.
If you have questions or wish to change something in your application, contact us using our online form.