Canada to take an equity stake of up to C$1.6 billion in AI lab Cohere as it raises a Series E targeting C$7 billion

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on 29 October 2026 that the Government of Canada will make an equity investment of up to C$1.6 billion in Toronto-based AI company Cohere. The government describes it as a commercial investment made alongside private investors including NVIDIA, Bell and Germany’s Schwarz Group.

The funding round

• Cohere is raising a Series E round targeting C$7 billion, led by Schwarz Group (owner of Lidl and Kaufland), which would value the company at about C$36 billion, Reuters reported via CBC.
• Only an initial close has been completed; Cohere did not say how much has been committed or when the round will close.
• Cohere said annual recurring revenue grew 165% year over year as of the third quarter and that it has about 300 customers.

Conditions

According to the PMO, Cohere will:

• create at least 1,000 high-paying technical jobs in Canada by 2030;
• commit at least C$1.7 billion to additional computing infrastructure in Canada by 2030;
• keep its Canadian incorporation and headquarters;
• continue working with the Canadian AI Safety Institute.

Carney made the announcement in Montreal while hosting an EU–Canada summit. “Cohere will stay Canadian,” he said. Schwarz plans to run Cohere’s models on its STACKIT cloud, following Cohere’s merger with Germany’s Aleph Alpha earlier this year.