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DAIR Cloud Program

Apply to DAIR

The DAIR Cloud Program connects Canadian startups to each other, and to free cloud resources and expertise in next generation technologies.

Think of DAIR as a bundle of resources intended to give a boost to Canadian startups and SMEs. We’ve put together a package of resources to help get your business off the ground or to the next level.

Did we mention there’s no cost? We don’t ask for your payment information and qualifying is simple: if you’re a Canadian business with fewer than 500 employees, you’re eligible to access DAIR for rapid and scalable design, development, validation, and demonstration of your product or service.

CANARIE is funded by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) to spark Canadian innovation and accelerate research and discovery. The goal of the DAIR Cloud Program is to give Canadian start-ups and SMEs a boost toward commercialization.

DAIR includes:

Hosted in Canada Public Cloud Platform

BoosterPacks:
Sample Code + Docs to Get You Started

DAIR Community:
Slack Channel, Webinar Series, & Tech Support

Hosted-in-Canada Public Cloud Platform

Access to the DAIR Cloud Platform includes generous monthly credits to spend on hosted-in-Canada public cloud resources through Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure. Your credits cover data egress and storage charges, and the Platform will give you access to your usage analytics to help you plan for the cloud resources you’ll need when you commercialize. Qualified businesses can also access Graphical Processor Units (GPUs), based on availability.

BoosterPacks

Included with DAIR, BoosterPacks are curated packages of resources and sample code that support specific emerging technologies (e.g. IoT, machine learning, augmented reality). Each BoosterPack is built by a Canadian business with experience developing products or services using that technology, and willing to share their expertise with the next cohort of startups.

Check out the BoosterPack Catalogue and learn more about building BoosterPacks

DAIR Community

By signing up for DAIR, you also tap into a collaborative community of Canadian entrepreneurs and cloud development experts. Use our private Slack channel to chat with your peers and get tech support from our own DAIR Cloud experts. You can also access a library of technical resources to help you get started on DAIR and to learn more about cloud dev-ops best practices, including exclusive invitations to webinars and events.

Looking for help?

Check out our Support resources and contact our team

DAIR lets startups, early stage businesses, and small & medium-sized businesses:

Rev up new product introduction and get to market faster

Quickly test and validate new features on your existing products

Reduce your product development time and costs

Leverage the expertise of experienced Canadian entrepreneurs to learn about new, emerging technologies through BoosterPacks

Build prototypes to showcase to potential customers and investors – anytime, from anywhere

Have the freedom and flexibility to design and evaluate your products and services with various technical architectures, operating systems, and scalability options

Keep your data in Canada

Avoid locking in with a specific cloud provider. DAIR promotes cloud independence: you can choose the cloud best suited to your needs and easily migrate on your own terms.

More than 1,600 Canadian businesses have benefited from access to DAIR.

Startups and small & medium-sized businesses in a range of sectors have used DAIR to lower their costs and get their products to market faster. Learn about their business ideas and how they used DAIR to take their business to the next level.

Accessing DAIR is simple.

To qualify, you must be a Canadian business with fewer than 500 employees and use DAIR for design, development, validation, and/or demonstration purposes.

The only requirement for DAIR startups is to provide feedback and insights on the quality and benefit of the program. This feedback may be in the form of short questionnaires and/or phone interviews.

If you have a product idea, have a startup, or are a small/medium-sized business:

  • Simply complete and submit this short application.
  • Applications are reviewed quickly, and you can expect a response within three (3) business days. If you qualify, you’ll receive credentials to access the DAIR Cloud within five (5) business days. Applications can be submitted at any time, but if the DAIR Cloud is over-subscribed, qualified applications will be processed in the order that they are received.

If you’re a business incubator or accelerator:

Augment your portfolio of resources and services with DAIR. Simply point your clients to apply and we’ll take care of the rest. We’re also happy to work with your team to present DAIR to your clients at one of your upcoming events or webinars – at no cost to you. Simply contact us at dair@canarie.ca and let us know how we can work together to support Canadian businesses.

APPLY TO DAIR

Questions?

Contact dair@canarie.ca to learn more about how CANARIE’s DAIR Cloud Program can help you get to market faster. You can also browse some of our Frequently Asked Questions.

Program News

October 21, 2019

CANARIE Launches New, No-Cost Cloud Resources for Canadian Startups

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May 22, 2019

Guest Blog: Early Stage Startup, Meet Your Public Cloud

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August 03, 2017

New, Free Tool Lets Canadian Small & Medium-Sized Businesses Forecast Cloud Usage and Cost

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