Canada takes an equity stake of up to C$1.6 billion in Cohere

The stake comes with commitments. Cohere will create at least 1,000 new high-paying Canadian technical jobs by 2030, commit at least C$1.7 billion to additional computing infrastructure in Canada by 2030, and keep its Canadian incorporation and headquarters[1]. It will also invest in Canadian research partnerships, create opportunities for students and recent graduates, and keep working with the Canadian AI Safety Institute[1].

The money won't arrive in one cheque. The government says it will be paid in stages, with regular reporting on progress against Cohere's commitments on jobs and investment[1]. "By taking an equity stake, Canada will share in the company's success," the release says[1].

Carney made the announcement in Montréal as he welcomed European Union leaders for a summit[3]. "We're not waiting for the future of AI to be decided somewhere else by those we don't know or those we don't trust," he said[2]. The government frames Cohere's value as giving organisations control over where sensitive data is stored, how it's used and who can access it[1]. The release also points to Cohere's recent merger with Germany's Aleph Alpha as bringing Canadian and German AI expertise together[1].

CBC News reports that Canada is joining a round led by Schwarz Group, the owner of Lidl and Kaufland, that targets $7 billion and would value Cohere at about $36 billion[3]. Schwarz pledged $780 million to lead the round in April as part of the Aleph Alpha merger, and Cohere says the money will fund model development, products for regulated industries and computing infrastructure[3]. Cohere has completed only an initial close and hasn't said how much is committed or when the round will close[3].

Governments usually back AI through grants, compute programs or procurement. Canada is instead taking ownership in a frontier lab and tying the money to headquarters, jobs and domestic compute, with staged payments as the enforcement mechanism. For enterprises in regulated industries, it signals that a well-funded, non-US option for controllable AI is being built with state backing on both sides of the Atlantic.