The federal government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Toronto-based Cohere, which develops large language models, to explore the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in public services.
The agreement was signed by Evan Solomon (former CBC journalist), Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, and Joël Lightbound, Minister of Government Transformation, Public Works and Procurement. The deal will allow the government to test Cohere’s AI technology to improve internal operations and examine how it could be applied across departments.
In announcing the partnership, Solomon said, “By working with Canadian AI innovators like Cohere, we’re laying the groundwork for a more efficient, effective and productive public service while helping ensure that Canada remains competitive in this new digital era.”
“We’re proud to deepen our partnership with the Canadian government, providing secure and sovereign AI solutions to transform public services. As a Canadian-headquartered company, we believe maintaining global AI leadership across public and private sectors is a national imperative,” said Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez.
Cohere was founded in 2019 and develops enterprise-focused AI models and tools (its flagship platform is called North and competes with Microsoft Copilot and Google Vertex AI, for example), working with global firms like Oracle, Dell, RBC, Bell, and SAP. The company was founded by Aidan Gomez, Ivan Zhang, and Nick Frosst, all University of Toronto alumni with ties to Google Brain.
Earlier this year, publishers including Condé Nast, McClatchy, Forbes Media, and Guardian News filed a complaint in a New York court accusing Cohere of copyright infringement. They claim the company copied their articles from the internet without permission or payment and used them to train its AI models.
In December 2024, the Liberal government, through Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland, announced an investment of up to $240 million in Cohere. Despite being based in Canada, Cohere still uses U.S.-made Nvidia chips and also has partnered with U.S.-based AI cloud computing company CoreWeave and Oracle for training its AI. Investors backing the company also include the likes of Nvidia and Index Ventures.
Back in July, Cohere signed a deal with Bell to provide sovereign AI solutions for government and enterprise clients, with Bell becoming Cohere’s preferred Canadian AI infrastructure provider.
The feds tout it launched the world’s first national AI strategy in 2016, and has invested more than $4.4 billion into the sector, including $2.4 billion in Budget 2024 to boost AI infrastructure, adoption, and safety research. Not sure what has really come out of those investments, but your tax dollars at work, folks?