HIVE and Bell Canada Partnership
In a significant development for the intersection of cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence, HIVE’s high-performance computing division, BUZZ HPC, has partnered with Bell Canada. This collaboration aims to establish a robust computing infrastructure for Bell’s AI Fabric platform, which is touted as a vital component of the country’s AI landscape.
Infrastructure and Technology
Under the terms of this partnership, BUZZ HPC will supply substantial clusters of NVIDIA graphics processing units (GPUs), featuring the latest technology such as Ampere, Hopper, and the forthcoming Blackwell chipsets. These high-performance machines will be interconnected via NVIDIA’s state-of-the-art InfiniBand networking system, enhancing their computational abilities. Bell intends to operate these systems within new data centers explicitly designed for AI Fabric, combining them with their extensive fiber network and cloud services.
Project Phases and Future Plans
The first phase of this initiative will see the installation of a 5-megawatt computing facility in Manitoba, slated to be operational later this year, with further expansions planned across additional sites. While HIVE has not disclosed potential earnings from this venture, the arrangement is set to provide government and enterprise clients of Bell with access to BUZZ HPC’s advanced GPU resources. This access will be instrumental for tasks such as training foundational AI models and refining existing algorithms.
Bell Canada’s Role
Bell Canada, as the largest telecommunications company in the nation and a subsidiary of BCE Inc., boasts a market value of around C$40 billion, servicing a wide array of residential and commercial customers. Its extensive operations include wireless, broadband, television, and media services, alongside a network of enterprise-level data centers that cater to both governmental and corporate needs.
AI Fabric Project Overview
The AI Fabric project itself was announced in May 2025, part of a larger, multi-year strategy aimed at creating a comprehensive national network of AI-optimized data centers. This initiative seeks to establish Canada’s largest sovereign AI computing project, targeting flexibility and sustainability with up to 500 megawatts of hydroelectric power distributed across several facilities.
Deployment and Future Developments
The deployment of the project commenced in June with a 7-megawatt AI inference site in Kamloops, British Columbia, developed in collaboration with the American chip manufacturer Groq. Their specialized language processing units are engineered to streamline inference tasks for large language models, offering competitive cost advantages compared to traditional processors. Another facility of similar capacity in Merritt, B.C. is expected to commence operations by year-end.
Future developments include a significant 26-megawatt facility at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, planned for 2026, intended to function as both a training hub for students and a site for AI model inference. Another center of equal capacity is anticipated in 2027, with two additional high-density facilities exceeding 400 megawatts in total capacity, already in advanced planning stages, also poised to leverage British Columbia’s hydroelectric resources.
Strategic Goals
Through this initiative, Bell is not only pursuing commercial opportunities but also aims to foster a national strategy that secures independent access to advanced AI infrastructure within Canada, minimizing reliance on major U.S. cloud service providers like Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure.
