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Government of Canada invests in mental health and crisis services for children and young people in Canada

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MISSISSAUGA, ON, June 25, 2024 /CNW/ – The mental health challenges facing young people in Canada have grown more complex in recent years, whether it is from problems at home, online, or at school. Their emotional and mental health needs require accessible, timely, and compassionate support. Every child deserves the best start in life, which is why the Government is making targeted investments to build a Canada that is more fair for everyone, by ensuring mental health resources are available for any young Canadian that needs them.

Today, the Honourable Kamal Khera, Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities and the Honourable Marci Ien, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth, highlighted funding in Budget 2024 of $7.5 million over three years to support Kids Help Phone (KHP) in its work providing mental health, counselling, and crisis support to young people.

Federal funding will be used by KHP to sustain their core model of care services, including:

Continue and broaden service delivery: KHP will continue to provide 24/7 access to bilingual mental health supports via voice and text, online counselling and crisis support for youth across Canada. This will include ongoing monitoring of service delivery; recruiting, training and retaining volunteers and counselors; developing technology that meets the need of frontline staff and supports the scaling up of services; and implementing AI-driven prototypes to automate administrate tasks.Amplify reach of service through ongoing and expanded outreach communications: KHP will provide 24/7 access to clinically validated content on their website and social media channels, while reaching specific populations of equity-deserving youth, e.g., Black, Indigenous, 2SLGBTQIA+, and newcomers.Support for KHP employees and volunteers: KHP will provide ongoing professional development and training opportunities for staff and volunteers, review and maintain current resources for clinical accuracy, and will develop and maintain a robust support and self-care program for all staff and service volunteers.Collect, analyze and communicate on data: KHP will utilize existing data collection and analysis strategies and processes to begin and maintain collection, analysis and reporting.

The Ministers highlighted this investment during a visit to the Mississauga location of Achēv, a charitable organization that is one of the largest providers of employment, newcomer, language, youth, women and inclusion services in the Greater Toronto Area.

Quotes 

“The 7.5 million dollars we’re putting forward to support Kids Help Phone will help make life fairer for younger Canadians by ensuring they have access to mental health supports when and where they need them. By asking the very wealthiest to pay their fair share we are making sure that all Canadians can access the supports and services they need.”

The Honourable Kamal Khera, Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities

“Young people face countless challenges that take a toll on their mental health. Uncertainty can lead to isolation, and barriers to support can make things even harder. That’s why we’re committed to eliminating these barriers and ensuring help is always available. By supporting organizations like Kids Help Phone, we’re making sure young Canadians have access to tools and support systems they need to succeed. Together, we’re paving the way for a generation that thrives.”

The Honourable Marci Ien, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth

Quick Facts 

Launched in 1989, KHP is Canada’s only 24/7 e-mental health service offering free, confidential support to young people in English and French, and 100 other languages.Depending where someone calls from, they can be connected with Kids Help Phone through the 9-8-8 service, or by calling 1-800-668-6868 or texting CONNECT to 686868 from anywhere in Canada, at any time.KHP has professional counsellors and volunteer responders trained to address young people’s continuum of emotional and mental health needs, from crisis situations to the everyday concerns.According to data collected by KHP, from January 2020 to December 31, 2023, young people have interacted with the service more than 19 million times. This represents a 144% increase in 2023 compared to pre-pandemic levels.KHP also reports that the issues young people reach out about are more complex than ever before and are compounding over time. The top five issues are: anxiety and stress; relationships; depression; suicide; and isolation.The Public Health Agency of Canada will be entering into a contribution agreement with KHP, with funding expected to start flowing to the organization in November 2024.

Associated Links

Mental Health and WellnessKids Help PhoneGet Help | 9-8-8: Suicide Crisis Helpline (988.ca)Budget 2024: Fairness for Every Generation

SOURCE Employment and Social Development Canada

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Ineffable Intelligence Selects Google Cloud To Power Its Superintelligence Mission

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Following a rigorous evaluation of the infrastructure market and a historic $1.1 billion seed round, Ineffable Intelligence enters agreement with Google Cloud to develop the world’s first “superlearner”

LONDON, June 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Google Cloud Summit London ’26 — Google Cloud and Ineffable Intelligence today announced a strategic partnership in which Google will provide the specialized infrastructure for Ineffable’s new frontier AI lab. Under the agreement, Ineffable Intelligence, the London-based startup founded by AlphaGo visionary David Silver, has selected Google Cloud as its preferred cloud partner, utilizing Google’s world-class AI-optimized technology to advance the next frontier of artificial intelligence: systems that learn continuously from their own experience.

The partnership follows Ineffable Intelligence’s historic $1.1 billion seed round, the largest of its kind in European history. Ineffable Intelligence will utilize Google Cloud’s high-performance computing capabilities to accelerate its mission of developing a “superlearner.” This partnership will also see Ineffable Intelligence deploy one of the largest clusters of A5X, powered by NVIDIA Vera Rubin NVL72 GPUs on Google Cloud, delivering massive computational scale.

Experience-based learning places fundamentally different demands on computing infrastructure than training on static datasets. Rather than learning from static datasets, these systems generate, evaluate, and learn from vast amounts of experience in real time, requiring enormous computational scale, high-performance networking, and tightly integrated training and inference systems. Google Cloud’s infrastructure will provide the foundation for this next generation of AI development.

Powering frontier AI with Google Cloud’s AI stack

While the industry has seen a surge in simple GPU-renting agreements, Ineffable Intelligence chose Google Cloud for its integrated AI Hypercomputer architecture. Unlike a standard “box of chips” approach, Google Cloud provides a systems-level optimization that combines performance-engineered GPUs with high-efficiency AI networking and storage.

“Training frontier models requires more than just raw compute; it requires a sophisticated orchestration of hardware and software,” said David Silver, CEO and Founder of Ineffable Intelligence. “We evaluated the space and chose Google Cloud as the best fit for our reinforcement learning infrastructure. We aren’t just looking for processors; we are building a resilient and scalable environment to make ‘first contact’ with superintelligence, AI that transcends human limitations in science, mathematics, and technology.”

Europe’s new frontier in AI

The collaboration signals a shift in the global AI landscape, positioning Ineffable Intelligence as a cornerstone of Europe’s growing AI ecosystem. By basing operations in London and leveraging Google Cloud’s secure infrastructure, Ineffable is poised to attract the continent’s premier engineering talent to solve the world’s most complex technical challenges.

“We are honored that the Ineffable Intelligence team has chosen Google Cloud to power its mission,” said Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud. “Ineffable is leveraging our full-stack AI Hypercomputer, from Jupiter networking to our optimized storage, to ensure its researchers can focus on breakthroughs, not bottlenecks. This partnership reflects how leading AI innovators are choosing Google Cloud to move faster and focus on revolutionary research and real-world impact.”

About Ineffable Intelligence
Ineffable Intelligence is the frontier AI company on a mission to make first contact with superintelligence. Founded by David Silver in London, it aims to create a superlearner that discovers all knowledge from its own experience, from elementary motor skills through to profound intellectual breakthroughs. This superlearning capability – the ability to endlessly discover knowledge and skills, without relying on human data – will be driven by the world’s most powerful reinforcement learning algorithms. The superlearner is expected to rediscover and then transcend the greatest inventions in human history, such as language, science, mathematics and technology – a scientific breakthrough of comparable magnitude to Darwin.

About Google Cloud
Google Cloud offers a powerful, optimized AI stack — including AI infrastructure, leading models like Gemini, data management capabilities, multicloud security solutions, developer tools and platform, as well as agents and applications — that enables organizations to transform their business for the Agentic Era. Customers in more than 200 countries and territories turn to Google Cloud as their trusted technology partner.

 

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ineffable-intelligence-selects-google-cloud-to-power-its-superintelligence-mission-302801139.html

SOURCE Google Cloud

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Univers Unveils Next Generation Platform for Physical AI at VivaTech 2026

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One Univers. One Intelligence Fabric. One Platform for the Physical World.

PARIS, June 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — At VivaTech 2026, Univers unveiled the next generation of its industry-leading platform suite: a Platform for Physical AI that enables enterprises to transform energy, infrastructure and industrial operations into a source of enduring competitive advantage.

As Europe seeks to strengthen industrial competitiveness, energy resilience and technological leadership, organizations face a growing challenge: applying AI reliably across the physical systems that power economies. While generative AI is transforming information work, the next frontier is enabling assets, facilities, energy systems and operations to sense, decide and act in real time.

Built on years of experience managing complex physical infrastructure, the Univers Platform for Physical AI brings together AI, energy and operational intelligence through a unified Intelligence Fabric. The platform continuously learns from operational outcomes, creating what Univers calls Compounding Intelligence—a growing intelligence advantage that enables organizations to deploy generative, agentic and autonomous AI in mission-critical environments with confidence.

Today, Univers connects over 400 million devices and manages more than 1,000 GW of energy assets and globally, orchestrating complex operational workflows across energy, building, transportation, logistics and industrial sectors.

“Europe’s next competitive advantage will be built not only on AI, but on the ability to apply AI to the physical world,” said Valerio Dilda, Senior Vice President, Europe, Univers. “The organizations that move first to build compounding intelligence across their operations will create a lasting advantage in productivity, resilience and innovation. Our Platform for Physical AI provides the foundation to make that possible.”

With four Centers of Excellence focused on Solar, Wind, Mobility and Energy and Resources across Europe alone, Univers helps enterprises unlock greater value from existing infrastructure while accelerating the transition from digital intelligence to autonomous operations.

About Univers

Univers operates one of the world’s largest real-time intelligence platforms for physical infrastructure, managing more than 1,000 GW of energy assets and connecting over 400 million devices globally. Through its Platform for Physical AI, Univers helps organizations orchestrate complex energy, infrastructure and operational systems with intelligence that continuously learns and improves over time.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/univers-unveils-next-generation-platform-for-physical-ai-at-vivatech-2026-302798852.html

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DXC Expands Relationship with Norske Skog to Modernize Network and Technology Operations

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Multi-year partnership delivers a modern, secure network solution while broadening DXC’s role across Norske Skog’s technology environment

OSLO, Norway, June 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — DXC Technology (NYSE: DXC), a leading enterprise technology and innovation partner today announced an expansion of its long-standing relationship with Norske Skog, a leading producer of publication paper and recycled containerboard in Norway. DXC will design, implement and operate a new software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN)—a modern, software-driven network that securely connects sites and —over the next four years, while also serving as its primary technology partner and trusted advisor across its broader technology estate.

Norske Skog’s network is the critical backbone connecting the company’s physical locations including offices and mills. Because the infrastructure plays a central role in ensuring availability and security, reliable service delivery is paramount. In selecting DXC to support the transformation of its network services, Norske Skog sought a more robust and responsive solution to improve service quality. DXC’s new network solution is designed to deliver stronger security, improved performance, greater scalability, and simplified management across Norske Skog’s locations.

“We are pleased to expand our long-standing partnership with DXC Technology as we modernize our network infrastructure. With a new software-defined wide area network, we will benefit from secure, scalable connectivity across our sites, improving performance and supporting our continued digital development. We also value DXC as a trusted advisor across our broader technology landscape.” Says Børge Teigland, CIO Norske Skog

“Expanding our relationship with Norske Skog reflects the trust we’ve built over time and DXC’s ability to deliver in critical environments,” said Espen Olsen, Managing Director DXC Norway. “By modernizing Norske Skog’s network infrastructure and taking on a broader role across their technology operations, we’re helping build a stronger, more secure foundation that supports the business today and as it evolves.”

DXC Technology is a long-standing partner to Norske Skog with more than 20 years of experience delivering end-to-end business and IT services. Today, DXC manages a significant part of Norske Skog’s IT estate, reflecting a deep and strategic partnership built on trust, reliability, and consistent delivery. As a trusted advisor, DXC continues to support Norske Skog across infrastructure, applications, and operational services, helping to modernize and optimize its technology landscape.

About DXC Technology
DXC Technology (NYSE: DXC) is a leading enterprise technology and innovation partner delivering software, services, and solutions to global enterprises and public sector organizations — helping them harness AI to drive outcomes at a time of exponential change with speed. With deep expertise in Managed Infrastructure Services, Application Modernization, and Industry-Specific Software Solutions, DXC modernizes, secures, and operates some of the world’s most complex technology estates. Learn more on dxc.com.

About Norske Skog
Norske Skog is a producer of packaging paper and publication paper across four mills in Europe. Packaging paper includes testliner and fluting and publication paper includes newsprint and magazine paper. The annual production capacity of packaging paper is 0.8 million tonnes, and the annual production capacity of publication paper is 1.2 million tonnes. Packaging paper and publication paper are sold through sales offices and agents. Norske Skog has approximately 1 650 employees and the parent company, Norske Skog ASA, a public limited liability company, is incorporated in Norway and has its head office in Oslo. The company is listed on Oslo Stock Exchange with the ticker NSKOG.

MEDIA CONTACT: Ashley Houk-Temple, Media Relations, ashley.houktemple@dxc.com 

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/dxc-expands-relationship-with-norske-skog-to-modernize-network-and-technology-operations-302800869.html

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