Ottawa to invest up to $1.6B in Canadian AI firm Cohere

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Thursday that his government will invest up to $1.6 billion in Canadian AI firm Cohere. The investment was made during a summit in Montreal where Carney welcomed European Union leaders to discuss strengthening ties. Carney emphasized that Canada is taking the lead in building AI technology responsibly, stating, "We're building it right here in the right way."

Cohere announced in April that it would merge with Germany's Aleph Alpha, with the company anchored in both Germany and Canada. Prime Minister Carney praised the partnership as a concrete example of collaboration between Canada and Europe, assuring that Cohere will remain a Canadian company. The government's announcement of the investment came alongside support from private investors such as Nvidia, Bell, and Germany's Schwarz Group.

Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez highlighted the company's global scale in building frontier AI technology, noting it's the largest AI company outside the U.S. and China. The government's funding will be provided in stages, with regular reporting on commitments. These commitments include creating at least 1,000 high-paying Canadian technical jobs and investing $1.7 billion in computing infrastructure by 2030.

Cohere will maintain its Canadian headquarters and commitment to research partnerships, student opportunities, and collaboration with the Canadian AI Safety Institute.

The investment will enable Cohere to develop more advanced AI models and products, scale its infrastructure, and expand its workforce to serve Canadian and international businesses and governments. Cohere benefited from a $240 million government investment in 2024 and an agreement to identify AI applications for public service operations in 2025. Minister Evan Solomon emphasized Canada's position as a leader in AI, with Cohere being one of few countries with a large language model.