Indian IT giant Tech Mahindra has announced a strategic investment in Canada to establish a Center of Excellence (COE) focused on cutting-edge technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and blockchain.

The announcement follows Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s recent visit to India. In its media release, Tech Mahindra said that an investment of CAD 100 million dollars is planned over next 5 years to establish the COE in Canada. The initiative will cater to the recent spurt in the need for AI and blockchain applications, especially in the ‘Fintech’ and ‘Smart Cities’ spaces.

“This strategic partnership between the Canadian govt. and Tech Mahindra has tremendous socio- economic synergy, considering the common values of both countries. The partnership will focus on the future technologies like AI and Blockchain and draw from the best of the both worlds, leveraging tech capability of India and the Innovation edge of Canada. We at Tech Mahindra are excited to forge ahead with this partnership”, said Mr. C. P. Gurnani, CEO & MD, Tech Mahindra.

The COE will be based out of Toronto. It will make the way for Canadians and Indians to access innovative technologies, while creating a niche talent pool and job opportunities in next-gen technology areas. It will focus on jointly developing business solutions in digital technologies in collaboration with the leading academic institutes, innovators and accelerators in the start-up ecosystem.

“We are committed to supporting new well-paying Canadian jobs and industry growth in emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain. That is why we welcome this major project by Tech Mahindra to establish a new Centre of Excellence in these growth areas in Canada. Given the recent announcement of the SCALE.AI superclusters, this new partnership will contribute to reinforce Canada’s position as a global leader in artificial intelligence and Blockchain technology,” Navdeep Bains ,Minister of Innovation, Science & Economic Development of Canada said.