Giesecke+Devrient is not treating artificial intelligence like a shiny add-on. The Munich-based SecurityTech company has launched a new AI Hub in Montréal, located at Mila, Quebec’s artificial intelligence institute, and the message is clear: AI is moving into the security stack.

The hub sits at the center of G+D’s Global Center of Excellence for AI and will focus on applied AI for environments where mistakes are expensive. That includes authentication, cybersecurity for digital infrastructure, secure payments, transaction intelligence, and internal AI projects where privacy, regulation, and auditability cannot be afterthoughts.

For Alertify readers, the interesting part is that G+D is connecting AI directly with trust infrastructure, including payments, identity, connectivity, and eSIM operations.

Why Montréal matters

G+D says it has invested roughly 40 million CAD, or about €25 million, in Canada over the past decade across infrastructure, security modernization, and digital transformation. Now it plans to invest more than 80 million CAD, or about €50 million, into the new AI Hub over the next five years.

The hub is expected to support around 60 AI and product specialists. Early projects already include AI-enabled insights on eSIM anomalies, AI tracking and logistics solutions, and a banking assistant.

That eSIM angle deserves attention. As travel eSIM, IoT eSIM, connected vehicles, and enterprise connectivity grow, anomaly detection becomes more than a technical nice-to-have. It can help identify failed activations, suspicious provisioning behavior, unusual traffic patterns, or operational issues before they become customer-facing problems. AI is not just helping sell connectivity. It may increasingly help secure and maintain it.

Montréal is a logical choice. Mila gives G+D access to research talent and an ecosystem where responsible AI is already part of the conversation.

The trust layer

“At G+D, we see AI as a powerful driver of value creation for our customers and our business. That is why we established our AI Hub in Montréal, where cutting-edge research becomes real, secure technology with purpose,” said Gabriel von Mitschke-Collande, Chief Digital Officer and member of the Group Management Board at G+D.

“Together with Mila, we aim to build AI solutions that people can trust, because security, trust, and human benefit are not add-ons for us. They are the foundation of meaningful and sustainable innovation.”

That sentence matters because the AI market is crowded with productivity promises. G+D is positioning its hub in a harder category: AI that must behave predictably in regulated, security-critical systems.

READ MORE: eSIM in IoT: How G+D Is Driving the Future of Connected Devices

The Honourable Evan Solomon, Canada’s Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, framed the announcement as part of Canada’s wider AI ambition.

“Canada is proud to be at the forefront of AI, bringing together world-class talent with a strong foundation of trust, ethics and innovation – underpinned by our new National AI Strategy, AI for All. An example of this leadership is G+D selecting Montréal for its next AI Hub, which highlights the strength and global competitiveness of Canada’s AI ecosystem. By working with leading international partners, we are advancing secure, responsible AI that supports critical infrastructure, drives economic growth, and delivers real benefits for Canadians and people worldwide,”

he said.

Valérie Pisano, President and CEO of Mila, added:

“We are proud that G+D has chosen Mila to establish its new AI Hub in Canada. This underscores the strength of our ecosystem and Mila’s ability to bridge cutting-edge research with real-world applications in areas where security, trust, and responsibility are paramount. As Canada strengthens its strategic economic and defense partnerships, attracting leading global players to Montréal is essential for the years to come.”

Where G+D fits

G+D is already active across Digital Security, Financial Platforms, and Currency Technology. That gives the company a useful position: it is thinking about AI for systems that touch money, mobile identity, public infrastructure, and secure transactions.

Thales is also pushing trusted AI for critical systems. IDEMIA is deeply embedded in biometrics, cryptography, identity verification, and payments. Entrust sits close to identity-centric security, certificates, payments, and AI security. None of these players is approaching AI as a consumer app feature. They are trying to make AI usable in places where trust must be engineered, tested, and governed.

READ MORE: G+D becomes first company to achieve GSMA eSIM compliance and certification for IoT eUICC product

That also explains who this is not really for. If a company only needs a lightweight chatbot, a plug-in analytics layer, or quick marketing automation, this is probably overbuilt. G+D’s move is more relevant for banks, telcos, governments, payment networks, and connectivity platforms that need AI inside strict security and compliance boundaries.

What could still be improved? The market will need more clarity on measurable outcomes. “Trusted AI” sounds good, but buyers will eventually ask for proof: lower fraud rates, faster anomaly detection, fewer failed provisioning events, better compliance reporting, and clear human oversight.

Why this is bigger than one hub

The real story is not that G+D opened an AI Hub. The story is that security companies are trying to own the trust layer of AI before less-regulated AI vendors push deeper into critical infrastructure.

For travel connectivity and eSIM, that matters. The next phase of the market will not only be about cheaper data plans or better app design. It will be about reliable activation, secure provisioning, fraud detection, device identity, and operational resilience.

The winners in AI for security-critical industries will not be the loudest AI brands. They will be the companies that can prove AI works safely when real money, real identities, and real infrastructure are on the line.