SCALE AI Supercluster: Up to 40% of Eligible AI Project Costs
Many companies can see where AI would make their operations or products better, but getting from a proof of concept to a working deployment takes money, expertise and partners. Scale AI, Canada’s AI-focused supercluster, invests in industry-led projects that bring AI out of the lab and into the field: adopting AI to improve the efficiency of value chains, and commercializing AI-based products and services.
Scale AI’s project funding program is currently on pause until further notice. Scale AI invites companies to sign up to be notified when it resumes.
What is SCALE AI?
Scale AI is Canada’s AI-focused supercluster. It funds collaborative, industry-led projects that use AI to boost productivity by improving value chains, either by adopting AI or by commercializing AI-based products and services.
Funding is open to value chain operators and AI solution providers across a broad range of sectors, including consumer goods and retail, industrial goods and manufacturing, transport and logistics, healthcare, and infrastructure and construction.
Project members decide who owns the intellectual property (IP) they create. Neither the Government nor Scale AI owns any of it.
SCALE AI at a glance
| Detail | SCALE AI Supercluster |
|---|---|
| Funding amount | Varies |
| Program type | Grant |
| Level | Federal |
| Where it applies | Canada-wide |
| Status | Paused |
| Deadline | On pause until further notice; Scale AI invites companies to sign up to be notified when it resumes. Once a comprehensive, detailed submission is in, selection takes about one month: the investment team helps develop a detailed proposal, a selection committee assesses it against fixed criteria, and a ratification board reviews the recommendation. |
| What it funds | AI Adoption / Integration, R&D / Proof of Concept, Commercialization / Market Launch, Product Demonstration / Pilot |
| Industries | All sectors |
| Company stage | Growth, Expansion, Established |
| Payment model | Reimbursement |
| Matching funds required | Yes |
| Competition level | High |
How much funding is available?
Scale AI reimburses up to 40% of eligible expenses for approved projects, paid on a quarterly basis. The money is a grant and does not have to be repaid.
There is no minimum or maximum investment per project. Projects typically last 12 to 18 months.
- Salaries and contracts: salaries, wages or contracts for carrying out project activities.
- Equipment and services: purchase or rental of equipment, supplies or services critical to the project.
- Dissemination: dissemination costs.
- Capital: capital expenditures vital to the project.
Who is eligible?
The consortium
- A collaborative project with more than one participant, at least one of them an SME (fewer than 500 FTEs). Participants can be solution adopters, product companies, service providers, academia and consultants.
- Organizations that are not members can submit a project, but must become Scale AI members to receive funding if it is selected.
The project
- In scope: it uses AI technologies to boost industry productivity by improving value chains.
- Incremental: it creates new AI development beyond existing solutions and regular business undertakings, and creates foreground IP.
- Ready: executives have endorsed it, its technical feasibility has been validated (for example, a data assessment or proof of concept), and the consortium has enough AI expertise to deliver and deploy the solution.
- Broader benefit: it shows how its new IP and data can benefit more than just the project participants, such as other Scale AI members.
How projects are scored
- Team and project management plan: 25%.
- Business impact: 20%.
- Strategic alignment with Scale AI’s strategic plan: 30%.
- Ecosystem impact: 25%.
When and how to apply
Scale AI’s project funding is on pause until further notice, and it is not taking projects now. Scale AI invites companies to sign up to be notified when it resumes.
When it is running, the investment team works with you to develop a detailed proposal, a selection committee assesses it against fixed criteria, and a ratification board reviews the recommendation. Once a comprehensive, detailed submission is in, selection takes about one month.
The status of SCALE AI Supercluster in EVAMAX Grant AI™ is currently Paused. Open the program there and choose “Remind me” to be told when it changes.
Is SCALE AI right for you?
Scale AI suits consortiums with at least one SME that are ready to deploy or commercialize AI in a value chain, have executive backing and validated feasibility, and can fund the share of eligible expenses the program does not reimburse. Because ecosystem impact counts for 25% of the score, plan how the project’s IP and data can benefit others, and watch for Scale AI’s notice that the program has resumed.
Next steps: look up SCALE AI Supercluster in EVAMAX Grant AI™ to see its live status and other programs that fit your company, or talk to EVAMAX about building your application.
Program details are from the EVAMAX Grant AI™ record as of October 19, 2026. Programs change — confirm current terms on the official program page before you apply.