Canada commits $150M to Montreal-based AI safety research as ALL IN conference opens

Canada and Germany announced a combined commitment of up to $300 million — with Canada contributing $150 million and Germany contributing 100 million euros — to LawZero, a Montreal-based nonprofit founded by AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio, as thousands of delegates gathered for ALL IN 2026 at Palais des congrès Wednesday.

The two-day conference brings together companies developing artificial intelligence, organizations adopting it, and researchers working to shape its future. Discussions at ALL IN have centered on matching the technology's potential against questions about safety, privacy, and public trust.

The funding will support LawZero's Scientist AI approach, designed to make advanced AI more transparent, trustworthy, and safe by design. The initiative funds research, engineering talent, and computing capacity, as well as a new German office and dedicated sovereign computing infrastructure in Canada.

Canadian AI and Digital Innovation Minister Evan Solomon, who participated in Tuesday's opening session alongside German Federal Minister for Digital Transformation Karsten Wildberger, framed the investment as part of a broader effort to develop increasingly capable AI while keeping safety and human oversight at the centre. "It is not to not build or to build, it is to build right or to build wrong. Today is about building right," Solomon said. He emphasized that the goal is not to stop AI development but to ensure it proceeds responsibly.

The conference features four stages, hundreds of exhibitors, hands-on workshops, industry roundtables, real-world AI demonstrations, and startup competitions alongside major announcements. Germany serves as the country of honour at this year's event, reflecting the deepening cooperation between Canada and Germany on AI policy and development.