Canada’s government plans to invest up to C$1.6 billion in Cohere, the Toronto-based maker of AI models for businesses, taking an ownership stake in the company. Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the deal in Montréal on 29 October, alongside private investors including NVIDIA, Bell and Germany’s Schwarz Group.
The money comes with conditions. According to the government’s announcement, Cohere has agreed to keep its incorporation and headquarters in Canada, create at least 1,000 technical jobs in the country by 2030 and commit at least C$1.7 billion to additional computing infrastructure in Canada over the same period. It will also keep working with the Canadian AI Safety Institute. The money will be paid in stages, with regular reporting against those commitments.
Governments usually back AI through grants, tax credits or subsidised computing. Buying equity in a model developer is rarer, and it signals that Canada treats a home-grown AI company as strategic infrastructure. It also ties public money to promises on jobs and data centres that can be checked.
The government did not disclose Cohere’s valuation or the full size of the funding round, and press reports have given differing figures.