Canada: Federal Government to Invest Up to $1.6 Billion in Cohere
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney announced in Montréal on October 29 that the federal government will make an equity investment of up to $1.6 billion in Cohere, the Canadian artificial intelligence company, to help it scale up in Canada. The government described it as a major investment in Canada's sovereign AI and digital capability.
The investment will proceed in stages alongside investments from partners including NVIDIA, Bell and the Schwarz Group. In return, Cohere has committed to create at least 1,000 new technical jobs in Canada by 2030, spend more than $1.7 billion additionally on Canadian computing infrastructure by 2030, and remain incorporated and headquartered in Canada.
The Prime Minister's Office said Cohere, founded in Toronto in 2019, builds secure AI for business and government and recently merged with the German secure-AI lab Aleph Alpha. Canadian governments, businesses and public institutions already use its products.
Carney said AI is the defining general-purpose technology of the era and Canada must be able to build the infrastructure at home, so that its governments and businesses can use AI that is built, controlled, owned and operated in Canada. Cohere co-founder and CEO Aidan Gomez said the investment shows Canada is choosing to cultivate AI capability at home rather than outsource the country's capacity.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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