01
Financial Services & Fintechs
Hedge funds, asset managers, insurance firms, and fintechs that need AI shipped fast. No 18-month engagements. Real systems, real results.
CANADIAN FINTECH RESEARCH INSTITUTE
WE BUILD AI. WE SHIP IT. WE STAND BEHIND IT.
We've shipped Bitcoin protocols, contributed R&D to deep-tech ventures, and put AI into production. Now we help Canadian businesses do what we already know how to do — move fast, integrate smart, and stay ahead of competitors who are already doing it.
Canadian businesses with no AI plan
Average time from briefing to first working system
Companies founded across AI, Web3, deep tech
Ventures built, co-built, or spun out
Applied AIBitcoin InfrastructureQuantum ComputingOpen SourceSovereign CapitalFrontier ResearchCanadian InnovationBuilt in TorontoApplied AIBitcoin InfrastructureQuantum ComputingOpen SourceSovereign CapitalFrontier ResearchCanadian InnovationBuilt in TorontoApplied AIBitcoin InfrastructureQuantum ComputingOpen SourceSovereign CapitalFrontier ResearchCanadian InnovationBuilt in Toronto
Built, shipped, or contributed to
See all ↗Torram↗
Bitcoin Infrastructure
MartinLoop↗
AI Agent Framework
CounterSwarm HQ
Defence Tech
CiteOps
Operational Intelligence
Kaizan Labs
Deep Tech Studio
Siglieri↗
AI / Decision Intelligence
FurnaceFirst↗
AI / Home Services
The Stakes
WITHIN FIVE YEARS,
EVERY CANADIAN BUSINESS
WILL HAVE AI AGENTS & AGENTIC WORKFLOWS
THE ONES THAT START NOW WILL OWN THE DECADE.
We watched businesses ignore the internet. Then mobile. Then cloud. Each time, the ones who moved early owned the decade. Each time, the ones who waited spent years catching up — at twice the cost. AI isn't different. It's just faster. And the window this time is measured in months, not years.
31.5% of Canadian financial firms are deploying AI in 2025
AI adoption in Canadian finance and insurance doubled YoY
What We Do
WE BUILD.
WE SHIP.
WE STAND BEHIND IT.
AI Build & Deployment
We design and ship production AI systems — fast. No 6-month discovery phases, no slide decks. Working software delivered by founders who've already done it.
- LLM workflow design and production deployment
- Agentic system architecture (built on open-source AI agent frameworks)
- AI ops, monitoring, and evaluation infrastructure
- Custom model fine-tuning and benchmarking
- Integration with existing enterprise systems and data
Who We Work With
Built for Canadian teams that need to move faster than they can hire.
02
Founders & SMBs
Early-stage and growth companies that need to move at founder speed without a full engineering team. We close the gap.
03
Enterprise Teams
You need to move faster than you can hire. We embed, build, and train — then hand you the keys. Your team owns what we build.
04
Grant-Funded Projects
Scoping, shipping, and reporting on work funded by IRAP, FedDev, BDC, ISED, and SR&ED.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions.
What executives, founders, and operators ask us most often.
- CFRI is an applied AI research institute and advisory firm helping Canadian founders, SMBs, and enterprises integrate AI, navigate Web3 and digital asset strategy, and execute rapid digital transformation. Founded by 5× founder VAKEESAN MAHALINGAM, CFA.
- CFRI was founded by VAKEESAN MAHALINGAM, CFA, a 5× founder who is CEO of Torram and associated with MartinLoop, Amari AI, Kaizan Labs, and CounterSwarm HQ.
- CFRI has co-founded, built, or contributed R&D to seven ventures: Torram (Bitcoin-native infrastructure, $710K pre-seed), MartinLoop (open-source AI agent framework), CounterSwarm HQ (defence-tech, autonomous swarm countermeasures), CiteOps (cloud-native operational intelligence), Kaizan Labs (deep-tech studio), Siglieri (AI board of directors platform for decision intelligence), and FurnaceFirst (AI-powered HVAC triage for Canadian homes). See the full portfolio at /work.
- It's fast. After a 30-minute briefing we send you a written scope. Most engagements start within two weeks. We embed with your team — onsite in Ontario or remote — and ship working systems, not slide decks. You own everything we build.
- CFRI contributed to the TSB token standard on Bitcoin (open source) and the MartinLoop open-source AI agent framework.
- CFRI is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. We work with clients across Canada and globally. Contact us at info@cfri.io.
Next Step
YOU ALREADY KNOW
SOMETHING NEEDS TO CHANGE.
Thirty minutes gets you clarity, a direction, and a written action plan delivered as follow-up — yours to keep, with or without us. No pitch, no slideware.