Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a federal investment of up to $1.6 billion in Toronto-based artificial intelligence company Cohere, saying their work towards “sovereign AI” will help strengthen Canada’s economy and national security.
The ownership stake helps address a longstanding issue in Canada’s technology sector where cutting-edge research often ends up getting commercialized outside Canada, according to Carney, who added that it will also cut dependence on foreign technology providers.
“We’re not waiting for the future of AI to be decided somewhere else by those we don’t know, or by whom we don’t trust,” Carney said. “We’re building it right here in the right way.”
Ottawa’s equity stake of up to $1.6 billion in Cohere will be made in stages, accompanied by private investors including Bell, NVIDIA and the German-based Schwarz Group.
“Because of the scale and strategic importance of our commitment, we’ve secured strong terms for Canadians who will own that stake in Cohere and share in its growth,” Carney said.
Founded in Toronto in 2019, Cohere develops AI systems for businesses and governments, with an emphasis on allowing organizations to maintain control over their data and technological infrastructure.
Under the agreement released Oct. 29 by the Prime Minister’s Office, Cohere commits to staying incorporated and headquartered in Canada, along with creating at least 1,000 new “high-paying technical jobs” by 2030, as well as investing a minimum of $1.7 billion more in computing infrastructure in Canada in the next four years.
“For decades, Canadians back that high-level research, but too often the companies and the value they created grew somewhere else,” Carney said, adding “Today is different.”
Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez, who also spoke at the announcement, said the financing is the largest private capital raise by a technology firm in Canadian history.
“This funding will help us to continue to build in Canada,” Gomez said. “It will help us invest in the infrastructure, the research, and the talent needed to compete globally.”
Carney said Canada gaining more ability to develop and run its own Canadian-origin AI technology is increasingly vital to national security and sovereignty.
“That matters, because today the most powerful AI systems are concentrated in a very small number of companies, in a very small number of countries,” he said. “That concentration carries risk to cost to resilience, and to sovereignty.”
Carney referred to the Cohere investment in light of the federal government’s new national security strategy released earlier on Oct. 29, tying them together as advancing Canadian national security and sovereignty.
“Sovereignty now requires secure access to semiconductors, critical minerals, payment systems, clean energy technologies, vaccines, space-based communications, and artificial intelligence.” He added: “Building these capabilities underpin our economic, foreign policy, and defense strategies.”
AI Minister Evan Solomon reiterated that the federal government’s AI strategy announced this past June is built on fostering public trust, creating economic opportunities and giving Canada “sovereign control” over AI.
Canada-EU Alliance
Carney’s announcement took place in Montreal, ahead of the Oct. 29 to 30 Canada-EU summit, where the prime minister said AI and technological cooperation is one of the areas expected to be discussed as Ottawa and Brussels seek closer formal ties.
Discussions of a proposed new formal partnership between Canada and the 27-member bloc are scheduled to include meetings between Carney and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as well as European Council President António Costa.
The discussions will focus on strengthening cooperation in trade, energy, defence, technology, critical minerals and other files, according to the Prime Minister’s Office, with Carney pointing to Cohere’s cooperation with German firms as examples of how Canada and the EU can mutually benefit technologically from closer ties.
Asked whether stricter AI rules in the EU could help grow the trust Canadians have in AI, Carney said “There are a variety of areas with respect to technology, with respect to cloud, with respect to infrastructure, where we can partner and enhance trust.”
“We’ll leave the specifics to how it evolves,” he added.
The Prime Minister added that legislation will be tabled in Parliament “around AI and broader safe social media.”
During remarks before the European Parliament this past September, Carney said Canada and the EU could develop shared safety rules, shared computing capacity and aligning standards as part of closer cooperation on AI.
