Ottawa takes a stake in Cohere, investing up to $1.6 billion in the Toronto AI company

Evan Solomon, artificial intelligence minister

Eurasia Group · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

And us?

Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon says the stake gives Ottawa “a seat at the table” and will keep sensitive data in Canada, under Canadian law. Cohere has committed to keeping its headquarters in Canada.

New Canadian tech jobs

1,000 jobs

Cohere says the funding will create 1,000 new Canadian technology jobs. It also plans to invest $4 billion in research and infrastructure by the end of 2031.

Why it matters

The government has not said what share of Cohere it will own. Analysts say a Canadian option reduces the risk of the US or China using AI as leverage.

“Even if we develop the models here, that doesn’t necessarily mean we control the infrastructure it runs on, the data it uses, or the conditions under which it operates.”

— Keith Jansa, Digital Governance Council

Canada · 3 d ago

Ottawa takes a stake in Cohere, investing up to $1.6 billion in the Toronto AI company

And us? Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon says the stake gives Ottawa “a seat at the table” and will keep sensitive data in Canada, under Canadian law. Cohere has committed to keeping its headquarters in Canada.

Cohere says the funding will create 1,000 new Canadian technology jobs. It also plans to invest $4 billion in research and infrastructure by the end of 2031.

The government has not said what share of Cohere it will own. Analysts say a Canadian option reduces the risk of the US or China using AI as leverage.

“Even if we develop the models here, that doesn’t necessarily mean we control the infrastructure it runs on, the data it uses, or the conditions under which it operates.”

Ottawa takes a stake in Cohere, investing up to $1.6 billion in the Toronto AI company

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