FedDev Ontario Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative (RAII) for Southern Ontario Businesses
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Eligibility & Details
What this program funds and who can apply
Program Description
FedDev Ontario's delivery of the federal Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative lends southern Ontario businesses $125,000 to $5 million per project, fully repayable and interest-free, for up to 50% of costs, through an AI Adoption stream and an AI Commercialization and Scale-Up stream. Applicants must be incorporated for-profit businesses, or First Nations, Metis or Inuit businesses, located and operating in southern Ontario: adoption needs three years of operations and 5 to 499 FTEs, commercialization one year, at least one FTE in southern Ontario, and a solution at TRL 6 or higher. Applications are open until January 19, 2027; apply by November 24, 2026 if the project and costs start before March 31, 2027. Not-for-profits and municipalities apply through a separate non-repayable organizations stream.
Eligibility Requirements
- Operate as a for-profit business located and operating in southern Ontario at the time of application, or be a First Nations, Metis or Inuit business
- Be incorporated and registered to do business in Canada or Ontario
- Own or demonstrate you will own project IP, hold or secure rights to any IP the project needs, and not infringe IP rights
- Demonstrate a commitment to the responsible development and use of AI, including cybersecurity, human oversight and accountability
- AI Adoption stream: at least 3 years of operations shown in financial statements, and at least 5 and fewer than 500 FTE employees
- AI Commercialization and Scale-Up stream: at least 1 year of operations, at least 1 FTE in southern Ontario and fewer than 500 FTEs overall, and an AI solution at TRL 6 or higher
- Commercialization applicants must also submit proof of previous support from a business accelerator, incubator, other government organization, or angel or venture capital investor
- Adoption projects must go beyond buying commonly available AI tools
- Only one application to FedDev Ontario may be under assessment at a time
Quick Assessment
Funding Details
- Amount
- $125K to $5M, repayableBetween $125,000 and $5 million per project in both streams. Funding is fully repayable and interest-free, with repayment normally starting one year after the project is completed. FedDev Ontario covers at most 50% of project costs and the applicant at least 50%; forecast revenue and in-kind contributions do not count as matching funds.
- Type
- Loan
- Level
- Federal
- Financing share
- Up to 50% of eligible costs
- Deadline
- January 19, 2027 at 4:59 p.m. EST (apply by November 24, 2026 if the project and costs start before March 31, 2027)
Program Scorecard
Competition, effort, and approval at a glance
Difficult — significant preparation needed
High competition — many applicants
Complex — detailed documentation needed
How to qualify
Insider tips, common pitfalls, and what successful applicants look like
Insider TipWatch the November 24, 2026 date: if you want the project and costs to start before March 31, 2027, that is your real deadline, and FedDev asks you to flag costs already incurred or expected by then.
Rejection Pitfalls 8
- Business is not located and operating in southern Ontario, or not incorporated
Success Profile
Evaluation Criteria
Everything you need to secure RAII
Not a marketing summary. The actual checklist, intel, and stack strategy reviewers look for.
- 8 rejection pitfalls reviewers flag — so you catch them first
- 9-document checklist with what each reviewer is actually checking
- Your Application Game Plan — the print-ready PDF the preview below describes
- 5-step application timeline with prep hours per step
- Insider tip from program officers on what separates winners
- Success profile + evaluation criteria — exactly what lenders look for
Application Playbook
Step-by-step process, required documents, and expenses
Application Steps
Required Documents 9
Eligible Expenses 8
Ineligible Expenses 7
Deadline Notes
Ineligible Organizations
- 4 more application steps
- 7 more required documents
- 8 eligible expenses
- 7 ineligible expenses
- Deadline notes
- Ineligible organizations
Funding Stack Strategy
Compatible programs, clawback risk, and combined funding potential
Stacking partner data not yet available.
Clawback Risk
Not-applicable RiskHow RAII Compares
Side-by-side with similar programs
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Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the questions founders most often ask about RAII