Artificial intelligence leaders in Canada say technology firms in the country should see the buzz around a chatbot made by Chinese startup DeepSeek as proof that there is more room to innovate.
Julien Billot, the CEO of Canadian collective Scale AI, says there’s an inclination to think that the game is over because many U.S. AI firms had early success and have since invested billions into the technology.
With DeepSeek’s AI assistant performing as well as or even better than rival OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Billot says Canadian companies should feel that more breakthroughs can happen and they don’t necessarily have to come from the U.S.
He says Canada has a lot of AI history and assets, creating a great opportunity for them to disrupt the AI world next.
Aidan Gomez, the head of Canadian AI darling Cohere, appears to agree, saying the future of AI is not about unlimited resources but about smart, efficient solutions.
He says Cohere has believed this for a long time, but the message is finally resonating across the industry.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 28, 2025.
