Vancouver, BC - March 23, 2025 - The Canadian government has made a major move to strengthen the country’s artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem by investing up to $240 million in Cohere Inc, a Toronto-based AI company. The announcement, made by the Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, confirms the federal government's commitment to fostering AI innovation and keeping Canada at the forefront of AI development.

Cohere, a Canadian-born AI company founded in 2019, specializes in AI-powered solutions for businesses, including chatbots, search engines, and summarization tools. This investment is part of Cohere’s $725 million initiative to enhance domestic AI computing capacity through a new multi-billion-dollar AI data center located in Canada. With this facility set to come online in 2025, Cohere aims to accelerate the commercialization of its large language models and strengthen its position against global competitors.

This funding comes through the AI Compute Challenge, part of Canada’s Sovereign AI Compute Strategy. The government is allocating $2 billion from Budget 2024 to ensure Canadian AI businesses, researchers, and innovators have access to the computational power they need to remain competitive on the global stage. Other components of the strategy include the AI Sovereign Compute Infrastructure Program, which will build a publicly owned supercomputing system, and the AI Compute Access Fund, which will help innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) acquire AI compute resources.

Minister Anand highlighted the significance of this investment, stating, “Artificial intelligence is reshaping our world, and Canada is leading the way. Strategic investments like this will ensure that Canadian innovators have the tools they need to thrive and compete globally.”

With AI playing an increasingly vital role in various industries, this investment will not only boost technological development but also drive economic growth, job creation, and data sovereignty for Canada. As Cohere takes the lead in expanding Canada’s AI infrastructure, this move positions the country as a formidable player in the global AI landscape.

The Government of Canada is allocating $2 billion from Budget 2024 to ensure that Canadian businesses, innovators and researchers have access to the computer capacity they need to develop made-in-Canada AI products and drive frontier research. This will be accomplished through a series of investments to meet short-, medium- and long-term compute needs:

  • Up to $700 million through the AI Compute Challenge to support projects from industry, academia and the private sector to build Canadian AI data centres.
  • Up to $705 million through the AI Sovereign Compute Infrastructure Program to build a state-of-the-art Canadian-owned and -located high-performance supercomputing system that will anchor national AI-specific computing infrastructure to meet the needs of Canada’s world-class research and innovation ecosystem.
  • Up to $300 million through the AI Compute Access Fund to support the purchase of AI compute resources by innovative Canadian SMEs.

At a time when Canada’s sovereignty is being challenged in various sectors, many Canadians are making a conscious effort to buy Canadian and support homegrown industries. This trend extends to AI tools, where domestic solutions like Cohere provide not only technological excellence but also the reassurance that data and innovation remain under Canadian control. By prioritizing Canadian-made AI solutions, businesses and individuals can contribute to a stronger, more resilient national economy while ensuring that cutting-edge advancements are developed and maintained within the country.

#Canadian AI #Artificial Intelligence #Tech Innovation #Made In Canada #AI Computing #Digital Sovereignty #Cohere AI #Future Of Tech #WBN News AI #Elke Porter

Connect with Elke at Westcoast German Media or on LinkedIn: Elke Porter or contact her on WhatsApp:  +1 604 828 8788

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