Cohere’s Series E is targeting C$7 billion, while Canada plans up to C$1.6 billion in staged equity tied to commitments on domestic jobs and computing capacity.
The Toronto-based AI company said Thursday the financing had reached an initial close, but has not published the amount raised so far. Cohere says reaching the full target would imply a C$35.7 billion valuation; that figure is tied to the target, not a disclosed completed raise.
Companies within Schwarz Group are leading the round. Cohere named Bell Ventures, Bullhound Capital and the Government of Canada as new investors. Inovia Capital, NVIDIA and Prosperity7 Ventures are returning investors.
The Canadian government set a ceiling of C$1.6 billion for its equity investment, to be delivered in stages with regular progress updates. The government said the investment would give Canada a stake in the company.
The commitments linked to the government’s plan call for Cohere to create at least 1,000 technical jobs in Canada and invest at least C$1.7 billion in additional computing infrastructure there by 2030. Cohere is also to keep its incorporation and headquarters in Canada. Prime Minister Mark Carney said the equity stake would let Canada share in opportunities from the company’s growth.
Cohere announced a separate Canadian commitment Friday: more than C$4 billion for research and development and AI infrastructure through 2031, alongside support for more than 1,500 Canadian jobs by that year. This pledge has a different scope and a later deadline than the government-linked terms, which set targets through 2030.
Cohere cited interest among businesses and government customers in controlling the data and infrastructure behind their AI deployments. Francois Chadwick, the company’s chief financial officer, said the financing would support more computing resources for enterprise models, tools for regulated sectors and continued work on Cohere’s models and products. The company also reported that annual recurring revenue rose 165% year over year through the third quarter of 2026 and its customer base grew 20-fold to 300.
