TELUS Digital opens AI Research Hub at University of São Paulo
VANCOUVER, CANADA — Global technology firm TELUS Digital has inaugurated the TELUS Digital Research Hub at the University of São Paulo’s Center for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (CIAAM).
This expansion is supported by a $1 million investment to foster AI research over the next three years. The initiative is aimed at enhancing the company’s generative AI platform, Fuel iX, which facilitates the deployment of advanced GenAI applications for enterprises.
“With the official opening of the TELUS Digital Research Hub, we’re creating a dedicated space for discovery and collaboration, where researchers can explore AI’s potential through projects with real-world impact,” said Renato Vicente, Director of the TELUS Digital Research Hub.
Advancing AI for a smarter future
The research hub will focus on several main areas, including making small language models, improving the integration of knowledge graphs, lowering security risks in multimodal AI, studying the geometry of LLM embeddings, making AI systems more explainable, increasing AI efficiency, and making LLM responses better.
These initiatives aim to improve the security, efficiency, and reliability of AI technologies, thus impacting the future of customer experiences.
Empowering future AI leaders
The company will offer research grants to eight undergraduate students annually and provide postdoctoral fellowships for early-career researchers.
Additionally, a visiting scholars program will invite leading global AI experts to collaborate and share knowledge at USP.
“We encourage students and researchers to apply for our grants and join us in pioneering key focus areas such as AI security, the development of small language models, and enhancing AI transparency and efficiency, while ensuring AI remains responsible and ethically-driven,” Vicente added.
Bret Kinsella, General Manager of Fuel iX at TELUS Digital, highlighted the global perspective of the initiative, “Building on our company’s existing Digital Centers in Guatemala and India, we now have a dedicated, world-class research facility that taps into fresh, diverse perspectives to drive AI innovation.”
TELUS Digital, operating in 32 countries, has established itself as a leader in digital customer experience innovation. The company specializes in AI solutions, content moderation, and next-generation digital experiences.
The company recently ranked #81 in the OA500 2025, an objective index of the world’s top 500 outsourcing companies.
