How the right mix of grants, tax credits and financing lowers the real cost of an AI project in Canada.
dgm is an independent osFoundry integration partner — not affiliated with osFoundry’s maker (OS LLC), and dgm has no completed client integrations yet.
The real cost of an AI project drops when you combine the right funding instruments. Here is how Canadian businesses lower the bill.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Build | IRAP / Mitacs cost-share the development |
| R&D recovery | SR&ED refunds a share afterward |
| Financing | BDC LIFT spreads cost with preferential rates |
| Platform | Usage-based, BYOK tooling avoids per-seat fees |
Funding levers
Several levers reduce net cost: IRAP or Mitacs cost-share the build, SR&ED refunds a portion of eligible R&D afterward, and BDC LIFT spreads the cost with preferential-rate financing. Used together (within stacking rules), they meaningfully lower the out-of-pocket figure.
Don’t forget the platform cost
Funding is only half the equation — the tooling choice matters too. A usage-based, bring-your-own-key platform like osFoundry avoids per-seat fees, so a small team’s cost scales with use rather than headcount. Program parameters, amounts and intake windows change frequently — confirm the current details on the official program page before relying on them.
How to start
The official starting point is Innovation Canada’s free Business Benefits Finder, which returns a tailored list of the 1,500+ federal, provincial and territorial supports you may qualify for and can filter to programs currently accepting applications. Important: these are programs a business applies for directly with the government agency, bank or cluster that runs them. dgm is an independent AI-integration agency — not a registered, approved or official deliverer of any program here. dgm can help assess fit and scope an AI project, but government money does not flow through dgm.
Where dgm fits
dgm is an independent integration partner that helps Canadian businesses adopt osFoundry — scoping a first use case, handling the build, and connecting AI to the systems you already run. dgm can help you scope the AI project that a program would fund — but you apply to the program directly. dgm is independent of osFoundry’s maker (OS LLC) and has no completed client integrations yet, so everything described here is a service offered, not a past result. If you want to scope a practical first project, dgm can help you map it out.