Canada and Germany invest in LawZero to build a new approach to safe, sovereign AI. Sep 16, 2026, 12:40 ET Funding will support the development of a new safe-by-design AI MONTRÉAL, Sept. 16, 2026 /CNW/ - As increasingly capable artificial intelligence (AI) systems become more autonomous, Canada and Germany are investing in a fundamentally new approach: advanced AI designed from the outset to be transparent, trustworthy and safe. Today, at the ALL IN conference, the Honourable Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, and Dr. Karsten Wildberger, Germany's Federal Minister for Digital Transformation and Government Modernisation, announced that the Government of Canada and the Federal Government of Germany are planning to invest CAD 150 million and EUR 100 million, respectively, in LawZero to develop a fundamentally new form of advanced AI, designed to be trustworthy, safe and capable. This joint investment further strengthens cooperation between Canada and Germany on AI. Headquartered in Montréal, LawZero is a not-for-profit organization developing a novel approach to advanced AI that is designed to be trustworthy, transparent and safe by design. Canada's funding through the Strategic Response Fund will support research and engineering talent, as well as computing capacity, for LawZero's methodology, Scientist AI. Unlike current frontier AI systems designed to act autonomously or pursue objectives, Scientist AI is being developed to reason transparently and provide reliable, evidence-based outputs that are not biased by goals of its own. By anchoring critical research, talent and computing capacity in Canada, the project will strengthen Canada's technological sovereignty and reduce reliance on foreign-controlled AI systems. The project will create 360 full-time jobs in Canada and will establish a dedicated, sovereign computing infrastructure in partnership with Canadian leaders Hypertec and 5C. The funding from Germany is subject to notification by the European Commission and will support research and development being undertaken at LawZero's new German office. This funding will not only expand and speed up the overall project but also ensure that European norms and regulations in the field of AI can be incorporated from the outset of the project. LawZero's work will begin with the development of tools to help assess and oversee existing AI systems and support scientific research, while advancing toward a new methodology for safe-by-design frontier models. Today's announcement deepens Canada's ties with Germany on developing AI, building on the two countries' Joint Declaration of Intent on Artificial Intelligence and the launch of the Sovereign Technology Alliance, which were announced in February. The project will also make a significant contribution to German and European strategies for safe and trustworthy AI. It also advances Canada's National Artificial Intelligence Strategy: AI for All by strengthening the country's long-term capacity to develop and deploy safe, homegrown AI systems. "AI technologies have the potential to deliver a generational boost to the productivity of the Canadian economy. By investing in LawZero, a Canadian organization advancing safe, high-impact AI, we are building domestic capacity, supporting good jobs and helping to ensure that advanced technologies are developed responsibly and in ways that benefit Canadians." - The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions "Canada's future in AI depends on developing advanced systems that reflect our values and protect our interests. By investing in homegrown innovation like Scientist AI, we are strengthening Canada's sovereign AI capacity and ensuring that the next generation of AI is built safely, responsibly and on Canadian terms." - The Honourable Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario "With Scientist AI, we are deepening the proven partnership between Canada and Germany. This project pursues a novel, mathematically grounded approach: to develop an inherently safe AI. The safe-by-design model offers an alternative to potentially uncontrollable autonomous AI agents. It works purely on the basis of facts-like an objective scientist-and does not pursue its own goals. By building advanced AI research capabilities in Canada and Europe, we are strengthening our technological sovereignty." - Dr. Karsten Wildberger, Germany's Federal Minister for Digital Transformation and Government Modernisation "As AI risks multiply and accelerate, our priority must be building solutions to make this technology safe and providing alternative models people can genuinely trust. Recent events demonstrate that safety is itself a core capability; scientific innovation and public safety can and must advance together. LawZero's mission is to address this critical scientific challenge by developing reliable, safe-by-design AI. This backing from Canada and Germany is a defining moment, moving us into the next phase of developing safe AI on a global scale while improving both nations' technological sovereignty." - Yoshua Bengio, Founder and Scientific Director, LawZero Quick facts * The Strategic Response Fund helps Canadian industries innovate, adapt and compete in a changing global economy. It supports large-scale, transformative projects that build economic resilience, strengthen supply chains and protect good jobs in key sectors such as steel, aluminum, automotive, forest products, AI and advanced technologies. * On June 4, 2026, the Government of Canada launched Canada's National Artificial Intelligence Strategy: AI for All. * The AI for All strategy makes security and safety paramount in AI development and use, including by modernizing privacy and online safety laws, strengthening national AI safety capabilities and enhancing government system security. Associated links Stay connected For easy access to government programs for businesses, download the Canada Business app. SOURCE Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada Contacts: Leela Polushin, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, [email protected], 343-543-5391; Media Relations, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, [email protected]

LawZero receives a commitment of up to $300M in joint funding from Canada and Germany. Sep 16, 2026, 12:00 ET MONTRÉAL, Sept. 16, 2026 /CNW/ - Today, at ALL IN, Canada and Germany announced funding of up to CAD $300 million for LawZero to develop a fundamentally new form of advanced, safe and capable AI. The rapid acceleration of AI brings important risks, as evidenced by recent incidents of systems crossing safety boundaries. The world urgently needs alternatives to ensure that AI systems are developed in ways that are trustworthy enough to be adopted, uphold sovereign values and protect human joy and endeavour. This joint investment from Canada and Germany signals strong confidence in LawZero's technical approach and in the critical role it can play to answer the urgent need for sovereign leadership in next-generation AI systems. The funding will power the next phase of LawZero's technical roadmap, growing its international scientific research team and securing world-class computing infrastructure. These investments will allow LawZero to expand its operations into Europe with the establishment of an office in Berlin, Germany, which will contribute to its rich innovation ecosystem. As part of this next phase of growth, LawZero will establish a dedicated, sovereign compute infrastructure in Canada, in partnership with Canadian partners Hypertec and 5C. The collaboration will provide LawZero with the advanced computing capacity required to pursue its research at scale, while anchoring critical AI infrastructure, expertise and capabilities in Canada. LawZero's flagship approach, called Scientist AI, treats reliability as a core capability, centering on developing a fundamentally new form of AI designed to be trustworthy and safe from inception. Unlike current frontier AI systems designed to act autonomously and pursue their own goals, Scientist AI is being developed to reason transparently and provide reliable, evidence-based outputs unbiased by goals of its own. As LawZero builds towards safe advanced AI, Scientist AI is expected to provide guardrails for today's frontier models, accelerate scientific breakthroughs, and advance understanding of the risks posed by AI and how to avoid them. "Canada's future in artificial intelligence depends on developing advanced systems that reflect our values and protect our interests. By investing in homegrown innovation like Scientist AI, we are strengthening Canada's sovereign AI capacity and ensuring that the next generation of AI is built safely, responsibly, and on Canadian terms." - The Honourable Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario "Canada's economy grows when we support the kind of innovation that helps our industries compete and succeed. By investing in LawZero, a Canadian organization advancing safe, high-impact AI, we are building domestic capacity, supporting good jobs, and helping to ensure that advanced technologies are developed responsibly and in ways that benefit Canadians." - The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions "With 'Scientist AI', we are deepening the proven partnership between Canada and Germany. This project pursues a novel, mathematically grounded approach: to develop an inherently safe artificial intelligence. The safe-by-design model offers an alternative to potentially uncontrollable autonomous AI agents. It works purely on the basis of facts - like an objective scientist - and does not pursue its own goals. By building advanced AI research capabilities in Canada and Europe, we are strengthening our technological sovereignty." - Dr. Karsten Wildberger, Federal Minister for Digitalization and Government Modernization of Germany "As AI risks multiply and accelerate, our priority must be building solutions to make this technology safe, and providing alternative models people can genuinely trust. Recent events demonstrate that safety is itself a core capability: scientific innovation and public safety can and must advance together. LawZero's mission is to address this critical scientific challenge by developing reliable, safe-by-design AI. This backing from Canada and Germany is a defining moment, moving us into the next phase of developing safe AI on a global scale while improving both nations' technological sovereignty." - Yoshua Bengio, Founder and Scientific Director, LawZero "AI is advancing at a pace the world has never seen and has the potential to transform the world for the better. It is incumbent on all of us to ensure we can enable AI safely, and I believe Canada has a role to play in making it happen. Hypertec is proud to build, along with our partner 5C, the sovereign, world-class compute infrastructure that enables Law Zero to pursue safe-by-design AI on Canadian soil. This is exactly the kind of partnership between government, capital and Canadian industry required to achieve the potential AI promises." - Simon Ahdoot, CEO Hypertec Group "Breakthrough AI research needs infrastructure that can perform at the same level. 5C is proud to provide Law Zero with the dedicated compute capacity required to advance its work at scale, here in Canada." - Jonathan Ahdoot, CEO 5C About LawZero Headquartered in Montréal, LawZero is a not-for-profit startup developing technical solutions for highly-capable, safe-by-design AI systems. Founded by Turing Award winner Yoshua Bengio, LawZero bridges fundamental AI safety research with technical solutions development. The organization is governed by an independent Board of Directors and Global Advisory Council made up of international leaders, including Nike Foundation and Girl Effect founder Maria Eitel (Board Chair), former Prime Ministers Jacinda Ardern and Stefan Löfven, author Yuval Noah Harari, former Rolls-Royce CEO Sir John Rose and Mila CEO Valerie Pisano. Initially incubated at Mila, LawZero's work is backed by catalytic funding from philanthropy, including the Gates Foundation, Coefficient Giving, Schmidt Sciences, the Future of Life Institute, NVIDIA, and Jaan Tallinn via the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, and from the governments of Canada and Germany. SOURCE LawZero [email protected]

LawZero receives a commitment of up to $300M in joint funding from Canada and Germany. Sep 16, 2026, 12:00 ET MONTRÉAL, Sept. 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - Today, at ALL IN, Canada and Germany announced funding of up to CAD $300 million for LawZero to develop a fundamentally new form of advanced, safe and capable AI. The rapid acceleration of AI brings important risks, as evidenced by recent incidents of systems crossing safety boundaries. The world urgently needs alternatives to ensure that AI systems are developed in ways that are trustworthy enough to be adopted, uphold sovereign values and protect human joy and endeavour. This joint investment from Canada and Germany signals strong confidence in LawZero's technical approach and in the critical role it can play to answer the urgent need for sovereign leadership in next-generation AI systems. The funding will power the next phase of LawZero's technical roadmap, growing its international scientific research team and securing world-class computing infrastructure. These investments will allow LawZero to expand its operations into Europe with the establishment of an office in Berlin, Germany, which will contribute to its rich innovation ecosystem. As part of this next phase of growth, LawZero will establish a dedicated, sovereign compute infrastructure in Canada, in partnership with Canadian partners Hypertec and 5C. The collaboration will provide LawZero with the advanced computing capacity required to pursue its research at scale, while anchoring critical AI infrastructure, expertise and capabilities in Canada. LawZero's flagship approach, called Scientist AI, treats reliability as a core capability, centering on developing a fundamentally new form of AI designed to be trustworthy and safe from inception. Unlike current frontier AI systems designed to act autonomously and pursue their own goals, Scientist AI is being developed to reason transparently and provide reliable, evidence-based outputs unbiased by goals of its own. As LawZero builds towards safe advanced AI, Scientist AI is expected to provide guardrails for today's frontier models, accelerate scientific breakthroughs, and advance understanding of the risks posed by AI and how to avoid them. "Canada's future in artificial intelligence depends on developing advanced systems that reflect our values and protect our interests. By investing in homegrown innovation like Scientist AI, we are strengthening Canada's sovereign AI capacity and ensuring that the next generation of AI is built safely, responsibly, and on Canadian terms." - The Honourable Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario "Canada's economy grows when we support the kind of innovation that helps our industries compete and succeed. By investing in LawZero, a Canadian organization advancing safe, high-impact AI, we are building domestic capacity, supporting good jobs, and helping to ensure that advanced technologies are developed responsibly and in ways that benefit Canadians." - The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions "With 'Scientist AI', we are deepening the proven partnership between Canada and Germany. This project pursues a novel, mathematically grounded approach: to develop an inherently safe artificial intelligence. The safe-by-design model offers an alternative to potentially uncontrollable autonomous AI agents. It works purely on the basis of facts - like an objective scientist - and does not pursue its own goals. By building advanced AI research capabilities in Canada and Europe, we are strengthening our technological sovereignty." - Dr. Karsten Wildberger, Federal Minister for Digitalization and Government Modernization of Germany "As AI risks multiply and accelerate, our priority must be building solutions to make this technology safe, and providing alternative models people can genuinely trust. Recent events demonstrate that safety is itself a core capability: scientific innovation and public safety can and must advance together. LawZero's mission is to address this critical scientific challenge by developing reliable, safe-by-design AI. This backing from Canada and Germany is a defining moment, moving us into the next phase of developing safe AI on a global scale while improving both nations' technological sovereignty." - Yoshua Bengio, Founder and Scientific Director, LawZero "AI is advancing at a pace the world has never seen and has the potential to transform the world for the better. It is incumbent on all of us to ensure we can enable AI safely, and I believe Canada has a role to play in making it happen. Hypertec is proud to build, along with our partner 5C, the sovereign, world-class compute infrastructure that enables Law Zero to pursue safe-by-design AI on Canadian soil. This is exactly the kind of partnership between government, capital and Canadian industry required to achieve the potential AI promises." - Simon Ahdoot, CEO Hypertec Group "Breakthrough AI research needs infrastructure that can perform at the same level. 5C is proud to provide Law Zero with the dedicated compute capacity required to advance its work at scale, here in Canada." - Jonathan Ahdoot, CEO 5C About LawZero Headquartered in Montréal, LawZero is a not-for-profit startup developing technical solutions for highly-capable, safe-by-design AI systems. Founded by Turing Award winner Yoshua Bengio, LawZero bridges fundamental AI safety research with technical solutions development. The organization is governed by an independent Board of Directors and Global Advisory Council made up of international leaders, including Nike Foundation and Girl Effect founder Maria Eitel (Board Chair), former Prime Ministers Jacinda Ardern and Stefan Löfven, author Yuval Noah Harari, former Rolls-Royce CEO Sir John Rose and Mila CEO Valerie Pisano. Initially incubated at Mila, LawZero's work is backed by catalytic funding from philanthropy, including the Gates Foundation, Coefficient Giving, Schmidt Sciences, the Future of Life Institute, NVIDIA, and Jaan Tallinn via the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, and from the governments of Canada and Germany. SOURCE LawZero