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Global News
an hour ago
- Global News
Ottawa taps Canadian tech firm for ideas on using AI in public service
The federal government has signed an agreement with a Canadian artificial intelligence company to identify areas where AI can enhance public service operations. The government says the agreement also involves looking at building Canada's commercial capabilities to use and export AI. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The government release provided few details about what exactly Cohere will do. However using artificial intelligence to increase efficiency in the public service was one of Prime Minister Mark Carney's election promises. In a blog post Cohere says it signed the memorandum of understanding with the government to transform the public sector with its AI technology. A spokesperson for Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon says the deal did not include a 'financial component.'
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Nvidia working on new AI chip for China that outperforms the H20, sources say
BEIJING/SINGAPORE — Nvidia is developing a new artificial intelligence chip for China based on its latest Blackwell architecture that will be more powerful than the H20 model it is currently allowed to sell there, two people briefed on the matter said. U.S. President Donald Trump last week opened the door to the possibility of more advanced Nvidia chips being sold in China. But the sources noted U.S. regulatory approval is far from guaranteed amid deep-seated fears in Washington about giving China too much access to U.S. AI technology. The new chip, tentatively known as the B30A, will use a single-die design likely to deliver half the raw computing power of the more sophisticated dual-die configuration in Nvidia's flagship B300 accelerator card, the sources said. A single-die design has all the main parts of an integrated circuit on one continuous piece of silicon rather than split across multiple dies. The new chip would have high-bandwidth memory and Nvidia's NVLink technology for fast data transmission between processors, features that are also in the H20, a chip based on the company's older Hopper architecture. The new chip's specifications are not completely finalized but Nvidia hopes to deliver samples to Chinese clients for testing as early as next month, said the sources who were not authorized to speak to media and declined to be identified. 'We evaluate a variety of products for our roadmap, so that we can be prepared to compete to the extent that governments allow,' Nvidia said in a statement. 'Everything we offer is with the full approval of the applicable authorities and designed solely for beneficial commercial use.' 'Of course (CEO Jensen Huang) would like to sell a new chip to China,' U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said when asked about the Reuters story in a CNBC interview, repeatedly praising Huang. 'I'm sure he's pitching the president all the time.' 'I've listened to him pitch the president, and the president listens to our great technology companies, and he'll decide how he wants to play it. But the fact Jensen is pitching a new chip shouldn't surprise anybody.' The U.S. Department of Commerce did not respond to a request for comment. Flashpoint The extent to which China, which generated 13 per cent of Nvidia's revenue in the past financial year, can have access to cutting-edge AI chips is one of the biggest flashpoints in U.S.-Sino trade tensions. Nvidia only received permission in July to recommence sales of the H20. It was developed specifically for China after export restrictions were put in place in 2023, but the company was abruptly ordered to stop sales in April. Trump said last week he might allow Nvidia to sell a scaled-down version of its next-generation chip in China after announcing an unprecedented deal that will see Nvidia and rival AMD AMD.O give the U.S. government 15 per cent of revenue from sales of some advanced chips in China. A new Nvidia chip for China might have '30 per cent to 50 per cent off,' he suggested in an apparent reference to the chip's computing power, adding that the H20 was 'obsolete.' U.S. legislators, both Democratic and Republican, have worried that access to even scaled-down versions of flagship AI chips will impede U.S. efforts to maintain its lead in artificial intelligence. But Nvidia and others argue that it is important to retain Chinese interest in its chips - which work with Nvidia's software tools - so that developers do not completely switch over to offerings from rivals like Huawei. Huawei has made great strides in chip development, with its latest models said to be on par with Nvidia in some aspects like computing power, though analysts say it lags in key areas such as software ecosystem support and memory bandwidth capabilities. Complicating Nvidia's efforts to retain market share in China, Chinese state media have also in recent weeks alleged that the U.S. company's chips could pose security risks, and authorities have cautioned Chinese tech firms about purchasing the H20. Nvidia says its chips carry no backdoor risks. Nvidia is also preparing to start delivering a separate new China-specific chip based on its Blackwell architecture and designed primarily for AI inference tasks, according to two other people familiar with those plans. Reuters reported in May that this chip, dubbed the RTX6000D, will sell for less than the H20, reflecting weaker specifications and simpler manufacturing requirements. The chip is designed to fall under U.S. government thresholds. It uses conventional GDDR memory and features memory bandwidth of 1,398 gigabytes per second, just below the 1.4 terabyte threshold established under restrictions introduced in April that led to the initial H20 ban. Nvidia is set to deliver small batches of RTX6000D to Chinese clients in September, said one of the people. (Reporting by Liam Mo in Beijing and Fanny Potkin in Singapore; Additional reporting by Alexandra Alper in Washington and Wen-Yee Lee in Taipei; Editing by Brenda Goh, Edwina Gibbs and Richard Chang)
Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
VTEX Turns Enterprise Complexity into Competitive Edge with Scalable B2B Orchestration, Agentic AI, and Omnichannel Intelligence
VTEX (NYSE: VTEX), the backbone for connected commerce and the only vendor named a Gartner® ' Customers' Choice ' for two consecutive years , unveiled a bold expansion of its enterprise-grade capabilities at VTEX Vision 2025, its annual digital showcase. This year's release introduces new solutions tailored for B2B complexity, personalized omnichannel experiences, and an agentic AI workforce that drives operational excellence through automation. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: B2B Enterprise: Tailored Capabilities That Convert and Scale The B2B Paradigm 2025 report by Andy Hoar recognized VTEX with the most Gold medals across Enterprise and Mid-Market categories, including Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and Marketplace capabilities. B2B commerce runs on its own terms, demanding intuitive digital infrastructure that's built to move high-volume transactions and manage the full complexity of modern procurement. VTEX Vision for B2B has unveiled core capabilities: Personalized Catalogs, Pricing, and Payment Methods per Buyer. Advanced Buyer Organization Management with branch structures, role-based access, budgeting, and policy control. Buying Policies & Approval Workflows that enforce custom procurement rules automatically. Quick Order Tools by file and search term for rapid cart creation. SKU Matrix and Reorder Tools for high-frequency purchasing. Native Punchout Integrations to centralize procurement within enterprise systems. VTEX's continued stream of B2B innovation affirms what enterprise leaders already know: success requires infrastructure built around how corporate buyers manage procurement, not systems that restrict transactions. Omnichannel, Evolved: Seamless, Intelligent and Personal For enterprise brands, true omnichannel is still a moving target. Inventory silos, delayed delivery updates, and disconnected store operations continue to prevent many from operating at full potential. VTEX closes these gaps by strengthening the operational backbone needed by brands to move with speed, accuracy, and full control of fulfillment. Key capabilities include: AI Semantic Search delivers relevant results by interpreting shopper intent through natural language. AI Product Recommendations drive conversion with personalized, behavior-based suggestions. Distributed Inventory is unified and available across every channel: B2C, B2B, marketplaces, and stores. Multi-Seller Carts merge 1P, 3P, and in-store items into one seamless checkout experience. Delivery Promise helps shoppers find products that are located near them and that can be delivered quickly . Cross-Channel Fulfillment: Newly simplified BOPIS ( buy online, pick up in store) and Ship from Store features, simplified returns, leading to operational cost reductions and improved inventory accuracy. Agentic Commerce: The Enterprise AI Workforce Enterprise commerce is entering a new operational era. VTEX is leading that shift with agentic AI built to streamline critical workflows and accelerate enterprise performance worldwide. The first phase of its roadmap toward a fully agentic commerce platform launches three AI agent specialists engineered for precision, speed, and adaptability. Together, they signal the beginning of a new standard where digital infrastructure operates as intelligently as the enterprises it serves. Customer Service Agent: a fully autonomous support agent across WhatsApp, Instagram, SMS, and more. Deployed by brands like UNICEF and Cencosud, it has already resolved 92% of tickets without human input and cut AHT from hours to minutes. Visual Editor Agent: will soon allow any team to instantly update a storefront using a Figma file or natural language, no developers required. Data Insights Agent: receive priority access to real-time omnichannel performance data in plain language, without the need for static dashboards or SQL queries. ' Enterprise commerce doesn't slow down in the face of complexity. It rewards those who turn it into leverage. With VTEX Vision 2025, we have expanded our infrastructure to meet rising demands, from B2B buyer personalization to seamless consumer retail experiences, all on one unified commerce platform built for growth, ' said Mariano Gomide de Faria, Founder and Co-CEO of VTEX. ' As VTEX advances toward a fully agentic commerce platform, we continue to transform cost centers into engines of growth with measurable impact. Our first wave of AI agents marks a critical step, compressing complex workflows and unlocking new value for global brands. Flexibility, transparency, and real-time adaptability will define the next generation of enterprise leaders. Anything else will be left behind. ' One Platform. Infinite Control. VTEX is building the commerce infrastructure enterprises need to unlock growth across both B2C and B2B models. Whether it's enabling a buyer to place highly complex orders with hundreds of line items or approval hierarchies in seconds, orchestrating global fulfillment across 20 countries, or deploying an AI agent that turns data into action, VTEX gives enterprise brands one platform to manage it all. Explore VTEX Vision 2025 and see what the future of enterprise commerce looks like for your business. ABOUT US: VTEX ( NYSE: VTEX) is the backbone of AI-connected commerce, built for enterprises that move fast, adapt with precision, and expect results. Trusted by retail (B2C) and industrial (B2B) leaders, VTEX unifies omnichannel sales, intelligent order management, data pipelines, retail media, enterprise-grade security, and more. Each capability is designed to remove friction, connect operations, and accelerate growth. VTEX provides both composable and out-of-the-box solutions and is trusted by more than 2,400 brands including Colgate, Sony, Stanley Black & Decker, and Whirlpool. Today, VTEX powers over 3,400 active storefronts in 43 countries (fiscal year ended December 31, 2024). Learn more at
