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Government of Canada investing in innovation ecosystems and AI to strengthen Saskatchewan’s tech sector

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PrairiesCan investments will support tech incubator Co.Labs and five AI businesses in Saskatchewan

SASKATOON, SK, April 30, 2026 /CNW/ – Over the past year, Canadian businesses have navigated a rapidly changing, and increasingly fragmented world.

In response, Canada’s new government is focused on what we can control–building a stronger, more independent, more resilient economy. We are moving with speed and ambition to diversify our trade partners abroad and build our strength at home while delivering responsible fiscal management. Saskatchewan’s growing innovation ecosystem and artificial intelligence sector have the potential to drive productivity, unlock new markets, and create jobs. Harnessing this potential is essential to building a more resilient, competitive economy for the province and the country.

Today, Taleeb Noormohamed, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, on behalf of Eleanor Olszewski, Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience and Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan), announced over $3.7 million in funding to support Co.Labs as they grow Saskatchewan’s technology and agtech scale-up ecosystems, and over $4.1 million in funding to support organizations developing and using artificial intelligence (AI) in the province. This represents a combined federal investment of over $7.9 million.

Co.Labs will strengthen collaboration with ecosystem partners, expand its Expert and X-in-Residence programs, enhance agtech programming, and deliver three Uniting the Prairies (UP) conferences, starting this week in Saskatoon. Through new and expanded partnerships – including with Regina-based Cultivator – these initiatives will connect startups to venture capital and angel investors, accelerate commercialization, attract private capital, and create more pathways for Saskatchewan founders to grow and scale their businesses.

The Government of Canada also announced its support for five other businesses and organizations working to develop and use AI to help transform Saskatchewan’s tech ecosystem, including Coconut Software Corporation, Vendasta Technologies Inc., HomeTeam Live Technologies Inc., the University of Regina and Artificial Intelligence Saskatchewan Corp. (AiSK). Details are available in the Backgrounder.

Quotes

“At a time of global uncertainty, it is more important than ever to support homegrown innovations that create good jobs and strengthen Canada’s position as an innovation powerhouse. Our new government is investing in Saskatchewan’s dynamic tech sector to drive growth, attract investments and build Canada strong.”

–The Honourable Eleanor Olszewski, Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience and Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada

“Businesses and innovators are the backbone of our economy, and many are looking to use artificial intelligence to unlock productivity. The Government of Canada is committed to scaling up our country’s AI industry, driving AI adoption and building a sovereign digital infrastructure. Harnessing AI while increasing trust in its responsible development and deployment will promote growth and shared prosperity in Saskatchewan and across the country.”

–The Honourable Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario

“Canada is committed to advancing innovation ecosystems that help us respond to the challenges of a rapidly changing global economy and stay competitive in the development and adoption of artificial intelligence. The investments announced today highlight the shared goals of our government and the tech sector to support local businesses, scale innovation, and build long-term economic resilience.”

–Taleeb Noormohamed, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation

“We are living in a time of global change and mounting competition, but Saskatchewan has what it takes to lead, build, and innovate with the best in the fields of tech and AI. By supporting organizations like Co.Labs and local AI leaders, our government is responsibly helping to create good local jobs, attract investment to our province, and ensure Saskatchewan continues to be a driver of Canada’s tech sector, now and into the future.”

–The Honourable Buckley Belanger, Secretary of State for Rural Development

“PrairiesCan’s support allows us to go further in the work that matters most: helping Saskatchewan founders access the expertise, networks, and opportunities they need to scale tech startups fast. It also strengthens the Uniting the Prairies conference as a platform to bring investors, partners, and high-growth startups together — raising the profile of this region and accelerating what’s possible for Prairie tech.”

–Jonathan Lipoth, Executive Director, Co.Labs

Quick facts

Co.Labs is an independent non-profit incubator, funded primarily by the federal and provincial governments through PrairiesCan and Innovation Saskatchewan.Uniting the Prairies, a conference organized by Co.Labs, is the largest annual tech event in Saskatchewan, bringing together over 75 investors, over 150 startups, and up to 400 community members.Projects with Co.Labs and AiSK are supported under Regional Innovation Ecosystems (RIE), which helps build, grow, and nurture inclusive regional innovation ecosystems. Through targeted investments in not-for-profit organizations, the program supports businesses in priority sectors to innovate, grow, and compete globally.Projects with Coconut Software Corporation, Vendasta Technologies Inc., HomeTeam Live Technologies Inc. and the University of Regina are supported under the Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative (RAII) which helps bring new AI technologies to market and speed-up AI adoption in critical sectors such as agriculture, clean technology, healthcare and manufacturing.

Backgrounder

The projects announced today help build Saskatchewan’s tech ecosystem and implement AI through investments in six organizations. Investments will help strengthen and diversify the economy, drive productivity, unlock new markets, and create jobs.

The supported projects announced today are funded under two programs:

Regional Innovation Ecosystems (RIE) program – $3,766,000

The RIE program helps create, grow, and nurture inclusive regional ecosystems. Through RIE, targeted investments in not-for-profit organizations assist businesses in priority sectors to innovate, grow, and compete globally.

PrairiesCan announced investments for two non-repayable projects under the RIE:

Co.Labs is strengthening collaboration with ecosystem partners, expanding its Expert and X-in-Residence programs, enhancing agtech programming, and delivering three Uniting the Prairies (UP) conferences from 2026 to 2028, with a federal investment of $3,756,000.Artificial Intelligence Saskatchewan Corp. (AiSK) hosted the Sask AI Expo on April 27, 2026, with a federal investment of $10,000.

Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative (RAII) – $4,172,561

The RAII provides $200 million to help businesses bring new AI technologies to market and speed up adoption in critical sectors such as agriculture, clean technology, healthcare, and manufacturing. This repayable and non-repayable interest-free funding is part of the government’s 2024 budget commitment to ensure Canada is a world leader in AI.

PrairiesCan announced investments for three repayable projects under the RAII:

Coconut Software Corporation is commercializing a proprietary cloud-based AI augmented workforce management platform for the financial sector, with a federal investment of $1,522,564.Vendasta Technologies Inc. is commercializing AI-augmented workflows to support small and medium sized businesses, with a federal investment of $1,416,100.HomeTeam Live Technologies Inc. is using proprietary technology to improve sport streaming, with a federal investment of $976,730.

PrairiesCan announced an investment for one non-repayable project under the RAII:

The University of Regina is developing an AI platform using tree ring data to predict climate change and soil moisture, with a federal investment of $257,167.

Associated links

Prairies Economic Development CanadaRegional Innovation Ecosystems (RIE) in the Prairie provinces – Canada.caRegional Artificial Intelligence Initiative (RAII) in the Prairie Provinces – Canada.caCo.Labs – Saskatchewan’s Tech IncubatorCoconut Software CorporationVendasta Technologies Inc.HomeTeam Live Technologies Inc.University of ReginaArtificial Intelligence Saskatchewan – AiSK

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Toll-Free Number: 1-888-338-9378
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SOURCE Prairies Economic Development Canada

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CGTN: China, Myanmar agree to deepen pragmatic cooperation across the board

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BEIJING, June 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Marking a new milestone in bilateral ties, President of Myanmar Min Aung Hlaing completed his first state visit to China from June 15 to 19, opening a new chapter of in-depth, multi-field pragmatic cooperation between the two neighboring countries.

By visiting China Railway Construction Corporation Limited in Beijing and traveling from the Chinese capital to Shanghai aboard the Fuxing high-speed train, the Myanmar president experienced China’s development achievements firsthand, and voiced Myanmar’s strong willingness to further expand practical infrastructure cooperation with China.

Throughout the fruitful visit, the two countries signed a series of cooperation agreements, consolidating their time-honored “pauk-phaw” friendship.

During a meeting with Min Aung Hlaing on Tuesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping said China stands ready to share its development experience with Myanmar and jointly build a China-Myanmar community with a shared future, which is underpinned by political amity and mutual trust, win-win development, security coordination and people-to-people exchanges.

For years, China has remained Myanmar’s largest trading partner, largest source of imports and most important source of investment. Bilateral trade reached $19.4 billion in 2025, up 19.1% year on year.

Boasting prominent structural complementarity, the trade landscape sees China exporting electromechanical equipment and vehicles to Myanmar while importing high-quality agricultural products and mineral resources from Myanmar, forming a mutually beneficial and stable industrial and trade cycle.

As a key landmark of Belt and Road cooperation, the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor has entered a fast-track development phase. A cluster of flagship projects, including the New Yangon City, the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone and the China-Myanmar Railway, have gradually taken shape, forming a solid framework for the construction of the corridor.

These major connectivity projects have effectively driven Myanmar’s industrial upgrading, and improved local livelihoods, injecting strong impetus into cross-border economic integration.

During Tuesday’s talks, Xi reiterated that the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor is a flagship project of the Belt and Road cooperation.

The two sides need to steadily advance the construction of major projects on the basis of ensuring safety and security, and support Myanmar in growing its economy and improving livelihoods, he said.

China, Xi added, stands ready to implement more “small and beautiful” assistance programs, and jointly tell the stories of mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries.

China and Myanmar on Tuesday issued a lengthy joint statement on accelerating the building of a community with a shared future between the two countries to better benefit the people of both countries.

In a demonstration of the depth and breadth of bilateral relations, the two sides signed a number of cooperative documents, covering transport, science and technology, intellectual property rights, human resources development, public health and media.

Bilateral and multilateral law-enforcement cooperation to combat cross-border criminal activities was also highlighted during the visit, with China and Myanmar expressing their support for the establishment of an international alliance against telecom cyber fraud.

Over recent months, through joint law enforcement coordination, China and Myanmar have cracked down the telecom fraud criminal operations in northern Myanmar, effectively upholding peace and stability along the border as well as the safety of lives and property of people of both countries.

During the talks, Xi said the two sides need to continue cracking down on criminal activities including online gambling, telecom fraud and drug trafficking, and fully safeguard the interests and security of the two peoples.

For his part, Min Aung Hlaing said Myanmar stands ready to work closely with China to resolutely combat online gambling and telecom fraud and safeguard security and stability in the border areas.

Qu Jianwen, chief of the Yunnan Province Association for Southeast Asian Studies, wrote that the China visit by Myanmar’s president vividly demonstrates the sound and growing momentum of bilateral cooperation.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2026-06-19/China-Myanmar-agree-to-deepen-pragmatic-cooperation-across-the-board-1O64ed6YbYI/p.html

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cgtn-china-myanmar-agree-to-deepen-pragmatic-cooperation-across-the-board-302805303.html

SOURCE CGTN

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Protecting and Innovating Critical Infrastructure Through New Security Landscapes

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The following article is authored by Skyla Loomis, General Manager, IBM Z Software

ARMONK, N.Y., June 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Over the last few years, we’ve seen seismic shift in enterprise computing. From the rise of machine learning to today’s agentic AI, computing systems have advanced beyond tools into active assistants, requiring new levels of secure, high-powered and efficient infrastructure.

One thing hasn’t changed though the decades. IBM Z has been the most resilient server platform in the market with its average yearly downtime as less than a third of a second.1

This reputation is because as technology has evolved, so has IBM Z. Today, clients have more workloads that may be considered highly sensitive and mission-critical given new sovereignty and regulation requirements, and continue to turn to IBM Z for their core applications.

IBM is continuing to innovate mainframes to address and combat the technological challenges of the future. As part of this mission, today we’re announcing the general availability of three new Z software tools designed to not only meet clients where they are, but to start addressing future challenges such as frontier model attacks. These complement our recent developments with Project Glasswing and our commitment to open-source security with Project Lightwell.

As a leading provider in hybrid cloud, AI and consulting expertise, IBM has developed decades of IBM Z Software to help clients protect themselves for what’s ahead. In cybersecurity, IBM developed IBM Concert for Z last year for enterprises to discover and address vulnerabilities across the entire landscape because we saw the siloed nature of infrastructure and application teams across an organization. Hybrid infrastructure is the reality and we are passionate about giving teams world-class software built to innovate and defend the full stack for the future – IBM Z included.

The following tools are now generally available:

IBM zSecure Detection – Evolving threats mean enterprises need better ways of monitoring and responding. IBM zSecure Detection monitors IBM Z activity for things like ransomware and suspicious behavior across the system. Enterprises now have a comprehensive tool to detect, investigate and respond on z/OS to strengthen their security posture.IBM zSecure Secret Manager – Certificate management can be a burden for infrastructure and security teams. As the lifespan of these certificates shortens, teams need a secure, continuous monitoring for z/OS environments in IBM Z and LinuxONE. Powered by IBM Vault Self-Managed for Z, IBM zSecure Secret Manager gives z/OS teams an automated and cohesive way of addressing certificate management with shortened certificate lifecycle deadlines and fragmented management strategies.IBM Z Database Assistant – IBM Z stands apart with its data integrity, but AI has shifted the need from access to intelligence. Now database teams can use agentic AI to optimize DBA performance, accelerate tasks and help ensure your trusted data is continuously available. IBM Z Database Assistant is proactive, autonomous and intelligent, designed for the future of data operations.

With security threats and new ways of working on IBM Z, we’re equipping the teams that work tirelessly on critical infrastructure to build and operate for the future. The bar for resiliency and 99.999999% uptime1remains the same for our clients, but IBM Z Software will continue to innovate so enterprises can manage and protect their core infrastructure and workloads.

Learn more about the latest Z Software solutions:

IBM zSecure DetectionIBM zSecure Secret ManagerIBM Z Database Assistant

1. ITIC 2025 Global Server Hardware, Server OS Reliability Report, February 2026

About IBM
IBM is a leading provider of global hybrid cloud and AI, and consulting expertise. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Thousands of government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and consulting deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s long-standing commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity, and service.  Visit www.ibm.com for more information.

Media contact:

Marshall Hampson
IBM
marshall.hampson@ibm.com

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SOURCE IBM

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KCS Opens KuCoin’s Ninth Anniversary Chapter, Advancing Token Utility as a Value Participation Layer

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The upgraded KCS experience brings trading efficiency, rewards, payment benefits and ecosystem privileges into one unified user journey.

PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos Islands, June 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — KuCoin, a leading global crypto platform built on trust, today announced the upgraded KCS experience, marking the opening chapter of KuCoin’s ninth anniversary journey and a new step in the evolution of KCS from a platform utility token into a broader value participation layer across the KuCoin ecosystem.

Nine years ago, KCS was introduced to reward and empower KuCoin’s earliest users. Since then, both KuCoin and the broader digital asset industry have undergone profound transformation. What began as a token primarily associated with trading benefits has gradually evolved into a broader ecosystem asset connecting users with rewards, payments,  loyalty privileges and community participation.

As digital asset ecosystems mature,  the role of exchange-native tokens is changing as well. Exchange-native tokens are no longer defined only by isolated benefits or short-term incentives. They are increasingly becoming participation layers that connect users with value across an entire ecosystem. The upgraded KCS experience addresses this shift by bringing fragmented KCS-related benefits into a more connected and actionable journey. Through the upgraded experience, users can better discover and activate KCS benefits across trading fee reductions, rewards, loyalty privileges, KuCard-related incentives and broader ecosystem programs through one clearer pathway. This reflects KuCoin’s trust-first approach in practice: making platform value easier to understand, more transparent to access and more consistent across touchpoints.

“KCS has grown alongside our users and our ecosystem for nearly nine years,” said BC Wong, CEO of KuCoin. “As the industry evolves, we believe the next generation of exchange-native tokens will be defined not simply by utility, but by how effectively they connect users with ecosystem value. Our vision is for KCS to serve as a participation layer that brings together trading, rewards, payments, and future ecosystem experiences into one cohesive journey.”

KCS, the native token of the KuCoin ecosystem, has long served as a bridge between users and KuCoin’s platform value. With this upgrade, KCS’s long-term vision of moving blockchain “from geeks to mass adoption” and building a blockchain-based value self-circulation ecosystem is being translated into a clearer and more practical user experience, making KCS easier to understand, activate and use across KuCoin.

The milestone arrives at a symbolic moment for KuCoin, serving as the opening chapter of its ninth-anniversary journey. As KuCoin prepares to celebrate nine years of growth, the evolution of KCS reflects the broader transformation of KuCoin itself — from a crypto exchange into a global digital asset ecosystem spanning trading, payments, Web3 infrastructure, institutional services and emerging technologies such as AI. In this next chapter, KCS is designed to become a clearer user-facing gateway to KuCoin’s expanding ecosystem, helping users better discover, understand and participate in the value created across the platform. As KuCoin enters its ninth anniversary, the upgraded KCS experience sets the tone for a broader vision: making ecosystem value more accessible, connected and meaningful for users worldwide.

About KuCoin

Founded in 2017, KuCoin is a leading global crypto platform built on trust and security, serving over 40 million users across 200+ countries and regions. Known for its reliability and user-first approach, the platform combines advanced technology, deep liquidity, and strong security safeguards to deliver a seamless trading experience. KuCoin provides access to 1,500+ digital assets through a broad product suite and remains committed to building transparent, compliant, and user-centric digital asset infrastructure for the future of finance, backed by SOC 2 Type II, ISO/IEC 27001:2022, and ISO/IEC 27701:2019 Certifications. In recent years, we have built a strong global compliance foundation, marked by key milestones including AUSTRAC registration in Australia, a MiCA license in Europe, and regulatory progress in other markets.

Learn more at www.kucoin.com.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kcs-opens-kucoins-ninth-anniversary-chapter-advancing-token-utility-as-a-value-participation-layer-302802551.html

SOURCE KuCoin

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