timeToronto-based startup led by Aidan Gomezis already set as Dear AI of Canada. Now, with the acquisition of Germany’s Aleph Alpha, the company is pushing into Europe, bringing together talent, computing and national ecosystems to create a new transatlantic alliance. In an AI race increasingly dominated by US and Chinese giants, the deal underscores that of industry pushing to create space for alternative options.
“Combining the strengths of Cohere and Aleph Alpha accelerates our global expansion and advances our mission to provide sovereign AI to nations around the world,” Gomez said in a statement. “Built on a foundation of shared Canadian and German values – where privacy, security and responsible innovation are paramount – we are uniquely positioned to be the world’s trusted AI partner.”
Financial terms have not been disclosed. Cohere is expected to be worth about 20 billion dollars after the deal closes and its ongoing Series E round ends, according to Axios. The company was last valued at $7 billion after a $100 million increase last year. She counts McKinsey, Fujitsu AND Royal Bank of Canada among its customers, along with government agencies.
Despite being just 28 years old, Gomez has played a role in some key AI moments. He studied under Geoffrey Hinton and co-author of a landmark 2017 paper, Attention Is All You Need, which introduced transformer models. In 2019, he co-founded Cohere with former colleagues Google RESEARCHERS Nick Frost AND Ivan Zhangbuilding the company around secure, AI-centric tools rather than consumer applications.
As part of the Aleph Alpha deal, Cohere will also receive about $600 million from Germany’s Schwarz Group during the next round of financing. Headed by supermarket billionaire Dieter Schwarz, Schwarz Group is also a backer of Aleph Alpha, having participated in its $500 million Series B round in 2023. The Heidelberg-based company develops large-language sovereign models for industrial and government clients across Europe.
Aleph Alpha was founded in 2019 by Jonas Andrulis AND Samuel Weinbach. Andrulis stepped down as CEO of the company in October 2025 after leading it for six years. The startup is now led by the co-CEO Spörri network AND Ilhan Scheer.
Germany has emerged as a key AI hub in recent years, producing companies like Black Forest Laboratoriesan imaging startup valued at $3.25 billion last year; I spokean agent platform worth $3 billion in January; AND Helsinkia defense technology company worth about $14 billion last summer. Alongside France and the UK, Germany remains a top destination for venture capital, with AI making up a growing share of this activity. READY one in four European VC-backed startups is now AI-relatedaccording to Pitchbook.
The combined Cohere–Aleph Alpha entity will focus on secure, customized AI for highly regulated sectors including government, finance, defense, energy, manufacturing, telecom and healthcare. “We’re building a real counterweight to organizations that refuse to transfer control over their AI to a single provider or jurisdiction,” said Aleph Alpha co-CEO Scheer.
Cohere is not alone in targeting this demand. of France Mistral AI has similarly positioned itself as a champion of sovereign AI, and earlier this year pledged about $1.4 billion to build data centers in Sweden, marking the first major infrastructure push outside of France.
Demand for sovereign AI is expected to accelerate. McKinsey estimates that the broader AI market could exceed $1 trillion by 2030, with sovereign artificial intelligence accounting for $500 billion and $600 billion of that total.
For Cohere, the movement also has national significance. The acquisition of Aleph Alpha “is a huge moment for Canadian AI,” it said Evan SolomonCanada’s minister of AI and digital innovation, in a statement. “This partnership strengthens Canada’s position in the global AI economy and demonstrates how trusted allies can work together to build sovereign AI capabilities.”
