When Microsoft President Brad Smith discussed the tech stack at Web Summit, he was right to celebrate the layered brilliance, like the APIs, AI models, and cloud computing platforms, that underpin today’s economy. But there’s a missing piece in that narrative, and it lies underground.

Every server, satellite, EV battery, and NVIDIA chip comes from the Earth. Simply, there is no tech stack without mineral exploration and the stack doesn’t start in a data centre, it starts in geoscience.

The Local Advantage

Canada is a resource-rich country, and British Columbia, in particular, hosts an abundance of minerals and metals. The province is also home to an ecosystem of skilled tech talent. This unique combination positions B.C. to drive the next generation of mineral exploration forward. 

The Supply Chain Starts in the Ground

It’s easy to forget the connection between technology and the minerals that power them. Copper, lithium, cobalt, nickel, and other key resources aren’t created in factories, they’re pulled from the ground, refined, and manufactured to become the physical components in everything from mobile phones to the infrastructure that powers our electric grid.

Last week, during a Web Summit Masterclass titled "The Trillion Dollar Mineral Hunt," which drew over 150 attendees, Steve de Jong, Co-founder and CEO of VRIFY, presented on the future of mineral exploration. Bringing it back to basics, de Jong gave attendees an overview of the industry and some key insights into a major challenge in mineral exploration: there isn’t a lack of data to make discoveries, but rather a lack of tools to help make the most sense of the data.

Attendees were introduced to VRIFY’s AI-Assisted Mineral Discovery Platform, DORA, and its application of AI and machine learning to unlock the full potential of the mineral exploration industry’s data. To best utilize this data to make discoveries, DORA uniquely places the power of AI into the hands of the geologists and geoscientists responsible for finding the minerals that drive supply chains and support global electrification.

“We have lots of minerals here in Canada, we just need the right tools to find them,” said de Jong. “DORA is the world’s first and only AI-assisted mineral discovery platform that actually gives the keys over to the geologist.”

The need has never been more urgent. To put it in perspective, every EV battery uses 8–10 kg of lithium, and a single AI data centre can use up to 1,100 tons of copper. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), demand for minerals critical to technology and clean energy is projected to grow 4–6x by 2040. 

Powering the Stack

With the demand for critical minerals only expected to grow, the province’s role as a supplier is more crucial than ever and B.C.-based companies are poised to lead the way. For the VRIFY team, leadership means equipping mineral exploration companies with an AI platform that complements the expertise of geoscientists, enabling them to find resources faster and with greater precision. In doing so, VRIFY is redefining modern mineral exploration.

But with every platform today, there’s a question of how AI fundamentally changes the space, and what that means for current experts. De Jong is candid about the importance of human intelligence and AI working together to advance both technology and exploration. He doesn’t see AI as a replacement, but rather as a catalyst for change. “AI is causing a boom for geology jobs... We have recently hired 20 geologists, with probably another 20 to 30 by the end of this year,” he adds.

Where Humans and Tech Meet

This collaboration between human expertise and AI is at the core of VRIFY’s approach, and also reflects a broader shift in how we think about innovation. As AI accelerates change across every industry, it’s essential to remember that every digital breakthrough, every piece of technology, still relies on physical resources — like copper in the case of AI infrastructure. And with 75% of the copper mined in Canada coming from right here in B.C., the connection between resources and technology becomes even more tangible.

What’s clear is that exploration needs to be prioritized with the same urgency as innovation. Web Summit isn’t just a platform for tech investors and startups, it’s also a space for meaningful conversations about the future of technology and the industries that make innovation possible. Because no matter how you stack it, the future of technology and AI is powered by minerals and metals. 

Discover how AI is supporting the growing demand for minerals and metals on VRIFY's website.