An Indigenous Tech Company is making a name for itself in the tech world. Photo from CyberCloud-AI
A local Indigenous tech company is making waves in the tech industry, all while helping to ensure Indigenous Peoples are at the forefront of A.I.
CyberCloud-AI is an Indigenous tech company based in Calgary that presents Canada’s first Indigenous-led Sovereign A.I. data centres, which are built on Indigenous lands in partnership with First Nations and Indigenous people around the world, and have the possibility of future expansion to data centre manufacturing.
The three co-founders of CyberCloud-AI are Daniel Mistaken Chief, Dr. Teena Starlight, and Josephine Naicker.
According to Daniel Mistaken Chief, their company started as something else, when they met at a powwow.
Mistaken Chief adds that throughout his life he has seen First Nations be pushed aside, until they are needed.
Mistaken Chief believes that Indigenous people need to start stepping up, because Indigenous people are intelligent and well educated.
As part of that wealth transfer, they are offering Bands and communities that want to get into the data centre space an opportunity to become 51 per cent owners of that data centre.
Mistaken Chief says that’s because the First Nation owns the most valuable resources, which is the land, as well as the gas, and the oil that’s with the land.
He adds that he believes this is a start for them.
Dr. Starlight chimed in, adding that Indigenous people deserve a chance to be at the table in the tech industry.
Mistaken Chief adds that he wonders why Indigenous people aren’t making the same deals as others.
CyberCloud-AI has been able to make some headway in the tech industry, though, as they are an approved AI supplier to the Government of Canada.
When asked about that, Mistaken Chief gave Josephine Naicker a glowing review, which Naicker then expands upon.
On top of being an approved AI supplier to the Government of Canada, they are applying to Canada Defence to supply them with data centres.
They have also been accepted into the Indigenous Defence Supply Chain Program 2026, which is a national mentorship and procurement readiness initiative that is designed to prepare Indigenous businesses for participation in Canada’s defence sector.
Mistaken Chief says they are disproving those who believe that Indigenous people do not have the capacity for this type of work.
He adds that they are currently in a position where they are in works with a pair of Bands to get them data centres of their own.
They have also recently announced a strategic collaboration with AMD.
AMD is a global leader in high-performance computing and in the development of advanced GPUs, which are the core hardware that powers modern A.I. systems and data centres.
Through this collaboration, they aim to accelerate the development of sovereign A.I. compute infrastructure in Canada, in collaboration with Indigenous Nations.
This collaboration supports both commercial and technical alignment, which includes the optimization of A.I. platforms and the deployment of trusted compute solutions using high-performance AMD A.I. technologies.
Mistaken Chief explains how this collaboration came about.
Josephine Naicker explains that AMD is one of the biggest technology companies for GPUs. She adds that GPUs are the engines that drive data centres.
Naicker adds that is happening south of the border, as there are data centres being built, but they don’t have the proper technology.
She goes on to say that AMD is also going to make available to Indigenous youth an A.I. learning academy.
CyberCloud-AI co-founder, Dr. Teena Starlight, explains how these data centres will help younger Indigenous people.
Also, as a result of these data centres, there will also be a need for plumbers, data centre technicians, accountants, and more, which will provide more job opportunities for Indigenous people.
Dr. Starlight adds that once the younger people are educated in the data centre world, they would end up being the ones running the data centre. On top of that, with the training and knowledge CyberCloud-AI provides, the data centre would be a sustainable, on-going revenue source for the Nation that owns 51 per cent of the data centre.
Not only that, but CyberCloud-AI is taking on the risk, themselves, when creating these data centres.
With the work CyberCloud-AI is doing with data centres, they are also helping with Canada’s data and A.I. sovereignty.
Josephine Naicker brings up Prime Minister Mark Carney’s recent speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and how he spoke about Canadian sovereignty in a lot of areas, including data sovereignty.
Dr. Starlight adds that this also supports Indigenous data sovereignty.
On top of that, the data centre will be built on the Nation’s land, and Dr. Starlight says by doing so, it will help to create a higher base economic stability for Indigenous communities.
Dr. Starlight adds that through CyberCloud-AI, they are helping to keep Indigenous communities involved with the growth and expansion of A.I.
CyberCloud-AI has an organization they setup called Indigenous Data Centres, whose aim is to create awareness amongst Indigenous people worldwide to let them know that it is possible for them to also build a data centres of their own.
When data centres are being built, there are talks about the resources these centres use, such as water consumption, which Josephine Naicker speaks to.
Even though technology changes and grows so rapidly in the A.I. industry, CyberCloud-AI isn’t concerned about falling behind or struggling to keep up.
According to Mistaken Chief, through their collaboration with AMD, CyberCloud-AI will be right on the forefront.
CyberCloud-AI is also working with Hewlett Packard Enterprise, who is a global leader in enterprise computing, to support the deployment of advanced, enterprise-grade infrastructure for high-performance A.I. workloads.
Through Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s involvement, it ensures the data centres will be equipped to meet the performance, reliability, and scalability demands of large-scale sovereign compute.
To learn more about CyberCloud-AI, click here.
Comments