DIGITAL – Technology Leadership
Program (Cycle 6)
Receive Up to $7M in Artificial Intelligence (AI) Funding.
DIGITAL has a Call for Proposals open for Technology Leadership (Cycle 6) projects in health and natural resources. The Technology Leadership Program will co-investing in 10-15 bold and ambitious projects that address challenges facing the health and natural resources sectors globally, Canadian companies will create new technology solutions and services and scale up by seizing new commercial opportunities and gaining market adoption within Canada and in international markets.
Areas of interest for this call are:
Health:
- Better access to healthcare;
- Improved outcomes; and
- More sustainable healthcare systems.
Natural Resources:
- Sustainable low-impact mining;
- Regenerative agriculture supply chains; and
- Resilient forestry.
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DIGITAL – Technology Leadership Program (Cycle 6)
Amount of Funding
- Up to 35% of total eligible costs to a minimum of $1M.
- Minimum Project Size: $3M
- There is no maximum project size.
DIGITAL – Technology Leadership Program (Cycle 6)
Eligible Applicants
Eligible Members:
- DIGITAL provides co-investment only to Member organizations (“Eligible Members”) that are:
- For-profit organizations;
- Not-for-profit organizations whose 50% of funding and/or revenue is from private-sector or industry organizations
- Non-federal Crown corporations whose funding is derived from commercial activities
- Indigenous organizations
- Other not-for-profit organizations, governments, post-secondary and research institutions, DIGITAL Associates, and non-Canadian organizations can participate in projects but cannot receive direct co-investment
Eligible Consortia: Eligible Members must come together to form a consortium:
- Must be led by an industry organization
- Must consist of at least three organizations
- Can include organizations located outside of Canada
- Must consist of at least one must be a Canadian SME
- Must consist of at least one organization representing a potential customer of the AI technology solution.
- Must consist of at least one research or post-secondary academic institution
- All participating organizations must be Members or Associates at the time of application submission.
DIGITAL – Technology Leadership Program (Cycle 6)
Eligible Activities
- Aim to achieve early commercialization and adoption of AI technology solutions that address well-defined problems in the Areas of Interest described above
- Projects may be a combination of one or more of the following:
- “Follow-on” opportunities to support the early commercialization and adoption of AI technology solutions that were developed with prior investment from DIGITAL;
- Early commercialization and adoption of existing Canadian-owned AI technology solutions in new target markets (i.e., international expansion, adjacent markets); and
- Improvements or new developments to address verified product/market fit gaps for the purposes of commercialization and adoption of the AI technology solution.
Eligible Costs:
- Portion of base wages or salaries and benefits
- Equipment costs including purchase, rental, operation, and maintenance
- Materials and supplies
- User fees.
- Incremental room or facility rentals
- Incremental costs to support conferences and related telecommunication expenses
- Travel costs
- Dissemination costs
- Capital expenditures
- Other related costs at the program’s discretion
DIGITAL – Technology Leadership Program (Cycle 6)
Program Deadline
- Projects may take up to 2 years to complete. All projects must be completed by December 31, 2025.
- Funds are limited and it is a competitive process. All applications will be reviewed and evaluated on a continuous-intake basis.
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