CCI Welcomes Formic AI to Our Network of National Innovators

The Council of Canadian Innovators is pleased to welcome Formic AI and Chief Executive Officer Daniel J. Escott to its national network of high-growth technology companies.

Formic AI is a Canadian artificial intelligence company built for organizations that need to find reliable information inside their own systems. Its flagship product, the Formic Engine, is a secure, privacy-first search tool designed for regulated industries. It helps teams search and summarize internal documents while keeping sensitive data protected and reducing reliance on outside vendors.

A key feature of the Formic Engine is its Intuitive Referencing framework, which provides sentence-level citations that point back to the original internal source. This approach is designed to keep results clear, traceable, and easier to review in settings where accuracy and accountability matter.

Formic AI is also developing Boreal, an experimental, patent-pending research model aimed at building more explainable AI that avoids the “black box” problem common in many systems today. Early testing suggests it could run more efficiently than mainstream approaches, supporting a more sustainable Canadian path for trusted AI.

Daniel J. Escott is the Chief Executive Officer of Formic AI. He is a lawyer and legal researcher focused on the intersection of law, technology, and artificial intelligence. He previously clerked at the Federal Court of Canada, where he helped advance the Court’s Notice and Interim Principles on the Use of AI, widely recognized as Canada’s first judicial guidance on using AI.

“Trust is the difference between AI that looks impressive and AI that can be used in the real world,” said Patrick Searle, Chief Executive Officer of the Council of Canadian Innovators. “Formic AI is building tools that help organizations find answers they can verify, without compromising privacy. That work matters for Canada’s ability to deploy AI responsibly in sectors where the stakes are high.”

Since 2015, the Council of Canadian Innovators has been dedicated to supporting Canada’s high-growth technology companies, working with government leaders to co-develop strategies that strengthen Canadian innovation, productivity, and long-term economic resilience.