Mr. Hesham Fahmy reports

TELUS AND FORTANIX PARTNER TO BRING CONFIDENTIAL AI TO CANADA, BUILT ON NVIDIA CONFIDENTIAL COMPUTING

Telus Corp. and Fortanix have released a new confidential AI (artificial intelligence) solution -- built on Nvidia -- that enables organizations to train and deploy AI on their most sensitive data with cryptographic proof that it remains securely within Canadian jurisdiction.

Confidential AI applies advanced encryption technology -- called confidential computing -- specifically to protect AI workloads, maintaining encryption of sensitive data even while being actively processed by the AI system. Developed jointly by Telus and Fortanix, a leader in confidential computing security, leveraging state-of-the-art Nvidia infrastructure at the Telus Sovereign AI Factory, the new solution uses cryptographic attestation and secure key releases to establish a verifiable chain of trust. This ensures proprietary models, sensitive data and agent credentials remain encrypted throughout training, fine-tuning and inference.

"Telus has built Canada's first fully sovereign AI infrastructure so that researchers, start-ups, enterprises and public institutions no longer have to choose between protecting their data and unlocking the transformative benefits of AI," said Hesham Fahmy, chief information officer of Telus. "This latest innovation with Fortanix and Nvidia adds a critical, final security layer to protect data while it is actively being processed. Now, regulated organizations can deploy AI even on their most sensitive workloads, with auditable proof of protection, so they can accelerate innovation confidently without compromising their control, privacy and compliance."

This solution, announced at Nvidia GTC 2026 in San Jose, is particularly critical for organizations in health care, finance, government and other regulated sectors, where the challenges of deploying AI and risking sensitive data exposure during processing can hamper innovation. The confidential AI solution creates an auditable, verifiable record that the environment is encrypted throughout the entire AI life cycle.

"Trust is not implicit -- it must be proven," said Anuj Jaiswal, chief product and strategy officer of Fortanix. "With verified attestation and attestation-gated secure key release, we ensure that models, data and agents are only accessible inside approved confidential environments. By combining this with Telus's sovereign infrastructure, organizations can deploy AI on their most sensitive data with cryptographic proof of protection, all on Canadian soil."

Before any sensitive data are decrypted, the confidential AI solution performs a cryptographic verification of the trusted execution environment using Nvidia confidential computing attestation services to confirm the hardware is genuine and secure. Encryption keys are released only when this verification succeeds. If the security check fails, the data remain locked. This approach provides the gates behind which sensitive data remain protected and inaccessible throughout the entire AI development and deployment process.

The joint confidential AI solution will be available through the Telus Sovereign AI Factory on Nvidia AI infrastructure, with Fortanix providing verified attestation and attestation-gated secure key release.

About Telus Corp.

Telus is a world-leading communications technology company operating in more than 45 countries and generating over $20-billion in annual revenue with more than 21 million customer connections through the company's advanced suite of broadband services for consumers, businesses and the public sector. Telus is committed to leveraging its technology to enable remarkable human outcomes. Telus is passionate about putting its customers and communities first, leading the way globally in client service excellence and social capitalism. Telus Health is enhancing more than 161 million lives across 200 countries and territories through innovative preventive medicine and well-being technologies. Telus Agriculture & Consumer Goods utilizes digital technologies and data insights to optimize the connection between producers and consumers. Telus Digital specializes in digital customer experiences and future-focused digital transformations that deliver value for its global clients. Guided by the company's enduring "give where we live" philosophy, Telus continues to invest in initiatives that support education, health and community well-being. In 2023, the company launched the Telus Student Bursary, which strives to ensure that every young person in Canada who wants a postsecondary education has the opportunity to pursue one. To date, the program has distributed over $6-million in bursaries to 2,000 students and counting. Since 2000, Telus and the company's team members and retirees have contributed $1.85-billion in cash, in-kind contributions, time and programs, including 2.5 million days of service -- earning Telus the distinction of the world's most giving company.