Ontario Construction News staff writer
The federal government is taking an equity stake in Toronto-based artificial intelligence company Cohere as part of a funding round targeting $7 billion, while the company plans more than $4 billion in Canadian research, development and AI infrastructure investment through 2031.
Cohere announced Nov. 10 that its expanded Canadian investment commitment, which began in 2024, is expected to create more than 1,500 jobs by 2031. At least 1,000 positions will focus on AI research, engineering, product development and other advanced technical disciplines.
The funding round is being led by Germany’s Schwarz Group, which owns the Lidl and Kaufland retail chains. Schwarz pledged $780 million in April as part of Cohere’s merger with German AI developer Aleph Alpha.
The round would value Cohere at approximately $36 billion.
Cohere said the funding will support the development of AI models, products for regulated industries and computing infrastructure.
The company’s Canadian investment plans include more than $4 billion in research and development and AI infrastructure spending between 2024 and 2031, spanning multiple provinces.
It also expects to create more than 250 paid student positions by 2029 and expand partnerships with Canadian universities and research institutions.
Recent collaborations include partnerships with the University of Toronto and the University of Waterloo’s Future of Work Institute, building on existing relationships with the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii), the Vector Institute and Mila.
Cohere is also involved in a $309-million GPU cloud partnership with Bell AI Fabric, which will allow its AI models to operate on Canadian infrastructure.
The latest announcement builds on the federal government’s efforts to develop Canada’s domestic AI industry and increase the use of Canadian technology in public services.
In August 2025, the federal government signed a memorandum of understanding with Cohere to explore opportunities to deploy AI across government operations and build Canada’s commercial capabilities in developing and exporting the technology.
The agreement was signed by then-Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister Evan Solomon and Government Transformation, Public Works and Procurement Minister Joël Lightbound.
Solomon said the partnership would help improve public service operations while supporting Canada’s technology sector.
“By working with Canadian AI innovators like Cohere, we’re laying the groundwork for a more efficient, effective and productive public service while helping ensure that Canada remains competitive in this new digital era,” he said.
Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez said developing AI technology and talent in Canada is essential to maintaining the country’s position in the global industry.
The company’s latest investment comes as the federal government works to increase AI adoption across the economy.
Canada’s national AI strategy aims to increase gross domestic product by three per cent and create up to 250,000 AI-related jobs by 2031. However, Statistics Canada reported that just 12 per cent of Canadian businesses used AI to produce goods or deliver services in 2025.
Cohere said its investment will help more Canadian organizations move from experimenting with AI to deploying it in business operations, while creating opportunities to develop and commercialize the technology domestically.
Founded in Toronto in 2019, Cohere develops enterprise AI models and products with a focus on security and applications for businesses.
