Canada and NVIDIA join Cohere funding round at over $20 billion valuation

TechFlow reported on October 29 that Canadian AI model startup Cohere is raising a major funding round at a $20.5 billion valuation, about three times its valuation a year ago. Cohere said on Thursday that it has completed the first closing of the round and expects total fundraising to reach up to $5 billion. The company said it has secured funding commitments from investors including the Government of Canada and NVIDIA; in addition, the previously disclosed $600 million investment from European retailer Schwarz Group is included. The Government of Canada has agreed to invest up to $1.14 billion in Cohere.

Canadian Prime Minister Carney said Cohere plans to keep its headquarters in Canada and expects to build new computing infrastructure in the country by 2030, investing about $1.2 billion. If the round is completed successfully, it would be the largest private financing in Canadian history, far exceeding previous records. Cohere declined to disclose how much of the $5 billion fundraising target has been finalized, but the CFO said the first closing covered "most of it". The valuation does not include funds raised in the round.

Source: TechFlow