MONTRÉAL, Que. - The federal government will invest up to $1.6 billion in Toronto-founded artificial intelligence company Cohere, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Thursday, October 29, 2026, in what Ottawa calls a landmark step toward secure, sovereign, Canadian-made AI.
The investment is a commercial equity investment, to be made in stages, alongside private investors including NVIDIA, Bell and the Schwarz Group. By taking an equity stake, the government says Canada will share in the company’s success as it grows.
Cohere builds secure AI systems for businesses and governments. Its technology, the government says, gives organizations greater control over where sensitive data is stored, how it is used and who can access it. The planned investment will let Cohere develop more advanced models and products, scale up its computing infrastructure and expand its Canadian workforce.
“Canada’s investment in Cohere is an investment in choice, in security, and in our ability to live our lives as we choose,” Carney said in the announcement. “Today, true sovereignty depends on our ability to build, adopt, and govern AI on our own terms.”
As part of the investment, Cohere will create at least 1,000 new high-paying Canadian technical jobs by 2030 and commit at least $1.7 billion to additional computing infrastructure in Canada by 2030. The company will maintain its Canadian incorporation and Canadian headquarters, invest in research partnerships in Canada and create opportunities for students and recent graduates, and keep working with the Canadian AI Safety Institute on the safe development and use of advanced AI.
The investment will be made in stages, with regular reporting on progress against the company’s commitments, including jobs and investment in Canada. That staged approach, the government says, gives Cohere the capital to expand while holding the company accountable for delivering benefits to Canadians.
“It is not enough for great companies to start in Canada. We want them to grow here, build here, and create good jobs here,” said Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation. “Investing in Cohere sends a clear message: you should not have to leave Canada to build a company that succeeds around the world.”
Cohere co-founder and chief executive officer Aidan Gomez said the investment helps accelerate the company’s vision of building frontier AI systems and secure, sovereign technology from Canada for customers around the world, and of attracting world-class talent to grow from Canada.
The announcement also notes Cohere’s recent merger with Aleph Alpha, which brings together Canadian and German AI expertise, and says investments from NVIDIA and the Schwarz Group in this financing round strengthen Cohere’s international partnerships.
For Surrey readers, the stakes are practical rather than abstract. Local businesses, clinics, law offices and municipal services are all being sold AI tools, and most of those tools are built and hosted abroad. A Canadian company selling secure AI, with its headquarters and a growing share of its computing infrastructure in Canada, gives those buyers a domestic option, and gives Canadian workers a share of the jobs that come with building it. The announcement does not say how many of the promised 1,000 jobs will be in British Columbia, and this article does not guess. What is committed is national: at least 1,000 Canadian technical jobs and at least $1.7 billion in Canadian computing infrastructure by 2030.
One caution matters for readers following the money. This is an announced commitment to invest up to $1.6 billion, made in stages, not a completed payment. The value of the stake, and whether the jobs and infrastructure commitments arrive on schedule, will be tested by the regular progress reporting the government has promised.
(Source: Prime Minister of Canada news release, October 29, 2026)
