Sanofi invests US$212M in Toronto’s AI hub to accelerate drug innovation

CANADA—Sanofi is deepening its push into artificial intelligence with a C$294 million (US$212 million) investment to expand its global AI Centre of Excellence in Toronto, reinforcing Canada’s growing role in biopharmaceutical innovation.

The expansion, announced on May 4, will scale up the digital infrastructure the French drugmaker established in the city in 2022 as it accelerates efforts to integrate AI across research, manufacturing and commercial operations.

The project is backed by a conditional grant of up to C$5 million (US$3.6 million) from the Ontario government through the Invest Ontario Fund.

As part of the expansion, Sanofi plans to create 50 high-skilled positions in artificial intelligence, machine learning and data science by 2028, adding to the more than 150 specialists already employed at the Toronto site.

These teams currently work across cloud computing, software engineering, bioinformatics and pharmaceutical data science.

According to the company, the new hires will help design and deploy advanced AI tools throughout Sanofi’s global business, supporting everything from drug discovery and clinical development to manufacturing optimization and market delivery.

“AI is woven into how we discover, develop, produce and deliver innovative therapies,” said Emmanuel Frenehard, Sanofi’s chief digital officer, noting that the Toronto center plays a key role in the company’s ambition to cut the time needed to move treatments from discovery to patients by half.

Ontario’s AI talent drives expansion

Sanofi selected Toronto for the expanded mandate following an international review, citing Ontario’s strong life sciences ecosystem, established digital infrastructure, and deep AI talent pool.

Dimitrije Jankovic, Sanofi’s global head of digital strategy and operations, said the province’s expertise is helping the company develop AI-driven solutions that can scale across its global operations.

The latest investment also builds on Sanofi’s broader Canadian footprint.

The company employs more than 2,000 people in Canada and is investing over C$2 billion (US$1.45 billion) in infrastructure projects through 2028, including its vaccine manufacturing expansion in Toronto.

Part of a wider industry AI race

Sanofi’s move comes as major pharmaceutical companies race to strengthen their AI capabilities.

Recent weeks have seen competitors announce partnerships and infrastructure investments aimed at embedding artificial intelligence across drug development pipelines.

Sanofi has already expanded its AI partnerships, including its collaboration with Canadian software company BenchSci.

The partnership gives Sanofi access to BenchSci’s ASCEND platform, which integrates public scientific literature with proprietary internal data to generate knowledge graphs that help researchers better understand disease biology and identify drug targets more quickly.

The company is also applying AI to build digital twins, or virtual patient models, that simulate treatment responses.

This technology recently supported regulatory work tied to its enzyme replacement therapy, Xenpozyme, further demonstrating how AI is becoming central to Sanofi’s development strategy.