Canadian small and mid-sized businesses focused on the semiconductor industry say the United States’ artificial intelligence boom is creating opportunities too good to pass up despite ongoing trade uncertainties and geopolitical friction between the two countries.

Big Tech investment in AI infrastructure will exceed US$700 billion this year, according to the financial statements of Meta Platforms Inc., Amazon.com Inc, Alphabet Inc. and Microsoft Corp., while Goldman Sachs Group Inc. estimates that tech’s AI spending will surpass US$5 trillion by 2030.

But Jerry Zhai, founder and chief executive of Toronto-based MaxEpic Inc., said no one company is able to offer an all-encompassing solution, which creates opportunities for Canadian companies.

He said MaxEpic’s potential business pipeline and revenue for its energy-efficient devices — chiplets that reduce power consumption for AI systems — have “expanded significantly” over the past few years.

Zhai said any hike in U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods wouldn’t directly affect his company because it licenses its tech to chipmakers and major tech platforms, but he has adjusted his strategy over the past 18 months to onshore manufacturing work from Asia to the U.S. to mitigate potential tariff-related turbulence.

Mani Sethi, chief executive of Brampton-based Advanced Micro Consulting Inc., which offers chip design and consulting services for semiconductor and technology companies, said business slowed down in early 2025 as companies scrambled to determine how U.S. president Donald Trump’s trade war would impact them, but it bounced back and is now booming.

“It doesn’t matter now what Trump is doing,” he said. “Demand is through the roof because of AI.”

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