The Canadian founder telling CEOs to rethink AI resilience

The Canadian AI startup Cohere, founded by Aidan Gomez, has recently seen its valuation soar from $7 billion to $20 billion after merging with Germany's Aleph Alpha in April. Despite being a small player in the tech industry, Gomez believes Cohere can compete on a global scale without spending as much as the big players from Silicon Valley or Chinese model makers.

This is because businesses are now more concerned about the geopolitical risks of relying on AI models from the US and China, as seen when Washington imposed export controls on Anthropic's Mythos AI model in June.

Cohere offers a solution that can make companies' AI supply chains more resilient and give them "AI sovereignty," or full control over their AI infrastructure. Executives now worry about control as much as they do about the cost or power of the models they deploy. Gomez explains that once a customer deploys Cohere's software, the company cannot see, switch it off, or intervene in any way.

Despite some skeptics viewing sovereign AI as a pipe dream, Gomez argues that it is becoming a present-day risk that needs to be planned for, especially as geopolitical changes and uncertainties threaten AI sovereignty worldwide.

Cohere is focusing on critical industries like telecoms, financial services, healthcare, the grid, and water treatment to strengthen democratic leadership in AI globally. A recent IDC study of executives in four countries found that most believe AI sovereignty is important, but few have a clear definition or plan to achieve it. Gomez emphasizes that companies should diversify their AI suppliers to avoid single points of failure and rely on technology from authoritarian countries.

He envisions a future where AI technology is used for the betterment of people and contributing to a better world.