CoLab Secures $5.6M From the Hibernia and Hebron Projects to Create Local Artificial Intelligence Talent and Accelerate ReviewAI Roadmap

A Newfoundland and Labrador-based software company - CoLab Software - has secured $5.6M CAD in funding from the Hibernia and Hebron Projects to grow local artificial intelligence (AI) talent and product capabilities. The investment will fund around 60,000 hours of additional local software development to expedite the creation of CoLab’s new product - ReviewAI. The investment also includes software subscriptions for the Hibernia and Hebron Projects.

Since the contribution was finalized, CoLab has hired 17 new full-time roles at company headquarters in St. John’s, NL. At CoLab’s Design Engagement Summit in August 2024 the team presented its first public demonstration of ReviewAI - a suite of applied AI and Machine Learning (ML) applications to accelerate product development and improve quality. CoLab has since secured another Fortune 50 partnership and has 60+ leadership teams from the Fortune 1000 evaluating ReviewAI.

“Hebron (operated by ExxonMobil Canada Properties) and Hibernia (operated by Hibernia Management and Development Company Ltd.) see this project as building foundational capabilities in artificial intelligence and software development in Newfoundland and Labrador,” said Nicholas Maccallum, Research & Development Manager with ExxonMobil Canada and seconded to HMDC. “It is advancing the global reach of a local software company to provide a competitive market solution for collaborative design workflows.”

CoLab is a cloud-based platform built for fast, effective design review. Using CoLab, multiple engineers, designers, and other stakeholders can review designs together and build off one another's feedback, resulting in more effective engineering reviews, including process, piping, and structural reviews. In 2024, Hebron’s engineering service contractor, Aker Solutions, implemented CoLab with 125 users and completed over 2900 design reviews.

“CoLab has improved multi-disciplinary collaboration, visibility and traceability across all our review processes,” said Scott Humber, Senior Manager - Digitalization with Aker Solutions. “Tighter feedback loops and automated tracking have improved internal review times and cut external reviews from weeks to days—or less—while enhancing visibility and reducing project costs. We are excited to implement ReviewAI and continue being a key partner in developing cutting-edge technology in Newfoundland and Labrador.”

The R&D funding has allowed CoLab to accelerate new technology development in four areas:

• ML algorithms which can automatically identify similar design files
• Generative AI to surface lessons learned or highlights from past reviews
• New ways to view, interrogate and analyze 3D engineering data
• Enterprise security, data protection and compliance controls

“This project and the associated funding is an exciting opportunity for CoLab to partner with a forward looking customer to build capabilities that the industry has never seen before,” said Adam Keating, CEO and Co-Founder of CoLab. “In 2025, with support from this project, we will be developing and launching several new capabilities, including a predictive review system that can automatically identify potential design issues. This will not only accelerate design reviews, but also increase their effectiveness by allowing engineers to focus on high impact problems and opportunities.”

The initial project scope was planned for 24 months targeting completion by 2026 and includes project management support from Energy Research & Innovation Newfoundland & Labrador.

Hibernia Management and Development Company Ltd. (HMDC) is the operator of the Hibernia project and is owned jointly by ExxonMobil Canada (33.125%), Chevron Canada Resources (26.875%), Suncor Energy Inc. (20%), Canada Hibernia Holding Corporation (8.5%), Murphy Oil Company Ltd. (6.5%) and Equinor Canada Ltd. (5%).

The Hebron Project co-venturers are ExxonMobil Canada Properties (EMCP), as Operator, (35.5%), Chevron Canada Limited (29.6%), Suncor Energy Inc. (21%), Equinor Canada Ltd. (9%) and Oil and Gas Corporation of Newfoundland and Labrador (4.9%).

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