Thrive Career Wellness & Partners Win Digital Funding for $2.5M Investment to Create AI-Powered Career Advisor for Canadian Workforce

TORONTO, ON - June 5, 2025 - DIGITAL, Canada’s Global Innovation Cluster for digital technologies, today announced an investment in a $2.5M consortium project led by Thrive to develop AI-powered career support tools. This multi-year project aims to transform how Canadians access career guidance and employment support. 

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Thrive’s AI Career Advisor will deploy specialized AI agents that make career guidance and support accessible at any time while enabling employment service practitioners to deliver increasingly more meaningful coaching support. Built on Thrive’s proven career wellness SaaS platform, which has an established presence in 14 countries, this solution combines AI models trained on millions of real-world data points, connecting job seekers with the resources and opportunities they need to succeed. 

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This made-in-Canada innovation is co-developed with leading ecosystem partners:

• Thrive will lead the project, leveraging its established career wellness platform to integrate and deploy a set of AI agents that transform how job seekers access guidance and support.
  
• Amii (Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute), one of Canada’s AI institutes, will provide key technical expertise and guidance, alongside machine learning residents, to accelerate the development and deployment of AI in career tech.
  
• Prospect Human Services Society contributes specialized knowledge in supporting equity-deserving groups and individuals facing barriers to employment.
  
• Riipen is the world’s largest online marketplace for work-integrated learning (WIL), addressing a key challenge for job seekers and training providers: the work experience gap. With deep expertise in experiential learning and career pathways, Riipen bridges the journey between education and employment.

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Many Canadians today face an uncertain future, with significant changes in our workforce. As one of Canada’s leading HRTech firms, Thrive is innovating through the development of responsible AI. This AI Career Advisor will empower Canadians, regardless of their digital skills, to confidently navigate today’s rapidly evolving job market..

‍Ali Hashemi, Head of Artificial Intelligence, Thrive Career Wellness

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The AI Career Advisor provides around-the-clock career guidance, ensuring continuous support to overcome employment barriers. By offering scalable, highly accessible career counselling, the project tackles critical workforce development challenges. Our commitment to ease of use benefits Canadians who may have limited access or digital literacy, enabling equitable access to jobs, especially for individuals underserved by traditional career services. 

The AI Career Advisor is expected to have an immediate impact across diverse use cases, from new graduates to individuals facing various employment barriers. The first component, AI Job Matching, is already in proof-of-concept development. 

For more information about Thrive’s latest Initiative, visit https://digitalsupercluster.ca/projects/ai-career-advisor/

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About Thrive Career Wellness

Founded in Toronto, Canada, Thrive is a global software solution that helps people move careers forward with a one-stop digital platform. Thrive powers public employment support systems, enhancing access and efficiency for Canadians navigating the job market while also serving as a global outplacement solution in the private sector. Active in over 14 countries, Thrive supports thousands of job seekers, employers, and employment service providers. 

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About DIGITAL

DIGITAL is a national non-profit that grows Canadian companies by accelerating the development, adoption and commercialization of Canadian digital technologies and the skilling of Canadian talent with an innovation model led by industry. Through a unique combination of co-investment, cross-industry collaboration, IP creation and digital talent development, DIGITAL has built one of the strongest digital innovation ecosystems in Canada. DIGITAL is one of Canada’s five Global Innovation Clusters. For more information, visit digitalsupercluster.ca

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About Amii

Amii (Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute) is a world-leading AI institute dedicated to advancing artificial intelligence for good and is one of Canada’s three national AI institutes under the Pan-Canadian AI Strategy. Established in 2002, with Dr. Richard Sutton (2024 ACM Turing Award) as its Chief Scientific Advisor, Amii takes a human-centred approach to AI development, ensuring solutions are not just technologically advanced but also ethical, accessible, and beneficial to society. Amii works to make artificial intelligence solutions that address meaningful challenges across sectors with a focus on principled AI and real-world impact. Learn more about Amii at www.amii.ca

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About Prospect

Prospect Human Services is an Alberta-based employment services provider dedicated to helping individuals overcome barriers to employment. Specializing in supporting equity-deserving groups, Prospect delivers innovative programs that bridge gaps between job seekers and employers through personalized support, skills development, and workplace inclusion initiatives. With decades of experience serving diverse communities, Prospect brings valuable insights into the real-world challenges faced by underrepresented populations in the workforce. Learn more about Prospect at www.prospectnow.ca

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About Riipen

Riipen is a leading provider of experiential education-employment pathways that bridge the gap between education and employment. Their platform connects students and recent graduates with real-world learning opportunities through project-based experiences with employers. By facilitating meaningful connections between academic institutions and industry partners, Riipen helps students develop practical skills while supporting employers in accessing emerging talent. Learn more about Riipen at www.riipen.com