Cohere, a Canadian AI start-up, raised $500M in funding at a $6.8B valuation

Canadian AI start-up, Cohere, is attempting to position itself as an enterprise alternative to U.S. AI industry leaders after the firm onboarded former executives from Uber and Meta as a part of its attempt to solidify its position in the AI industry. 

The latest funding round values the Toronto-based group at $6.8B, including the new capital, up from $5.5B last year.

Founded in 2019 by former Google researchers, Cohere focuses on building large language models for business customers rather than the general public. The company believes its strategy will differentiate it from competitors as it allows for tighter control over privacy, compliance, and data security.

These are decisive factors for clients in highly regulated industries such as banking, telecoms, and government services.

Cohere secures $500M funding

Cohere, a Canadian artificial intelligence start-up, has raised $500M in a fresh funding round and appointed two prominent industry figures to its executive team in a bid to expand its position as a secure alternative to American AI giants such as OpenAI and Anthropic.

The round was led by Radical Ventures and Inovia Capital, with participation from AMD Ventures, Nvidia, PSP Investments, Salesforce Ventures, and other investors.

Cohere also confirmed the hiring of Joelle Pineau, a respected academic who headed AI research at Meta until April this year, as its chief AI officer, and former Uber executive Francois Chadwick as chief financial officer.

The company has recently secured or expanded partnerships with major global brands, including the Royal Bank of Canada, Fujitsu, LG, Oracle, and Dell.

“Trust and safety is the biggest factor for our customers. Privacy and security you cannot compromise on, you can’t go halfway,” Cohere’s co-founder and chief executive, Aidan Gomez, said.

Escaping AI sovereignty

Cohere’s enterprise-only model is also drawing interest from companies and governments outside the U.S. that are wary of depending solely on a small cluster of large AI firms headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Gomez noted that concerns over “AI sovereignty” came up prior to the recent political changes, but the concerns have become more urgent.

“Sovereignty in AI has been important for a very long time, these were discussions before any changes in US politics. But in the world we’re in today it’s becoming increasingly important,” he said.

The company has doubled its annual recurring revenue to $100M since the start of 2025 and aims to reach $200M by year’s end, according to people familiar with its finances. This growth is due to an increase in customer adoption. Gomez noted that businesses are now deploying AI tools more broadly across their organizations rather than confining them to small pilot programmes.

In addition to the funding and hires, Cohere recently launched North, a platform designed for AI agents. The platform is aimed at enterprises seeking advanced AI capabilities without compromising data security. Cohere claims North enables companies to access state-of-the-art AI tools while retaining full control over sensitive information.

Despite its progress, Cohere’s revenues remain far smaller than those of its consumer-focused competitors. The recent $1.3B boost to its valuation is modest compared to the dramatic jumps among industry leaders. OpenAI is reportedly targeting a $500B valuation, up from $300B, while Anthropic is in talks to nearly triple its valuation to $170B.

However, investors suggest that Cohere’s lower operating costs, due in part to avoiding the expense of training and running vast general-purpose models, could make its business more sustainable.

“The margins are quite different for Cohere,” one backer said, adding that while enterprise adoption may take longer, it often provides a steadier and more reliable revenue stream than consumer-based models.

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