TORONTO — Canadian artificial intelligence company Cohere has signed a deal with Germany’s Aleph Alpha, aimed at creating an independent alternative to the global technology giants that dominate the sector.
The companies did not disclose the financial terms or structure of the deal, which was announced early Friday.
However, they said that if Aleph Alpha shareholders approve the deal, the proposed combined entity would use the Kohia name and be “based” in Germany and Canada.
Cohere co-founder and CEO Aidan Gomez saw the move as a way for both AI companies to combine their strengths to accelerate expansion.
“Organizations around the world are demanding uncompromising control over their AI stacks,” he said, referring to the collection of tools companies use to support their technology infrastructure.
“This transatlantic partnership will unlock the massive scale, robust infrastructure and world-class research and development talent needed to meet that demand.”
Together, the companies say they aim to provide a secure alternative to customized AI in highly regulated sectors.
They will be supported by Schwarz Group, a shareholder in Aleph Alpha. Schwarz Group has committed to invest 500 million euros (approximately $801.5 million) as lead investor in the new Cohere’s upcoming funding round.
Toronto-based Cohere was founded in 2019 and focuses on developing AI systems for companies such as Royal Bank of Canada, Salesforce, and Oracle.
Aleph Alpha was founded in the same year and is also active in the enterprise AI space, working with clients such as Deutsche Bank, Bosch, and SAP.
In addition to Gomez, Kohia also counts Ivan Chan and Nick Frost as co-founders. Asked who would make up the company’s new leadership, Kohia did not specify as of Friday morning.
Cohere first gained attention when, at the age of 20, Gomez co-authored a research paper on the then-novel concept of transformers, an aspect of language processing that allows people to identify relationships between sequential data, such as words in a sentence.
Since then, the company has raised funding from tech heavyweights Jeffrey Hinton, Fei-Fei Li, Peter Abbeer and Raquel Urtasun.
Praise and opportunities have been pouring in from politicians as well. The federal government will invest up to $240 million in Cohere in 2024 and signed a deal with the company last summer to identify areas where AI can enhance public services.
The Aleph Alpha agreement comes months after AI Minister Evan Solomon visited Germany and pledged to join the Sovereign Technology Alliance aimed at deepening Canada’s AI capabilities.
Solomon said Friday’s announcement is a “huge moment for AI in Canada” and proves the country is “not just creating world-class AI ideas. We’re building world-class AI companies.”
“This partnership strengthens Canada’s position in the global AI economy and demonstrates how trusted allies can work together to build sovereign AI capabilities,” he said in a statement.
The agreement with Aleph Alpha was signed as Cohere moves steadily towards listing. Gomez said last year that Cohere would transition “soon,” but the company has never offered a more precise timeline.
Although Cohere has multiple global offices, Canada has always been its heartland, and the co-founders have repeatedly encouraged other entrepreneurs to locate in the country rather than in other technology hubs like Silicon Valley in the United States.
Speaking at the inaugural Toronto Tech Week in June, Gomez revealed that Kohia had made a nine-figure acquisition offer several years ago and was “very close” to realizing it. He said he was glad Kohia had turned down the offer, adding that the company was “not for sale.”
“Any kind of secession that kicks us out of Canada is only if we fail. And we haven’t failed,” Gomez said.
“I think the acquisition was a mistake because we are still growing rapidly.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 24, 2026.
Tara Deschamps, Canadian Press
