Founded in 2019 in Toronto ( Canada) by Aidan Gomez - co-author of the "Attention Is All You Need" platform of modern AI, Cohere aims to provide a safe, custom-made LLM model for businesses rather than consumers. Although not as prominent as OpenAI, Anthropic or Meta, the company still builds a large network of partners including: Oracle, Dell, Bell, Fujitsu, LG's CNS consulting services, SAP, RBC and Ontario Health Care Retirement Plan (OHCP).
In the announcement, Cohere affirmed that it represents the enterprise AI line that prioritizes security, unlike reusable consumer models. Along with the new round of capital, the company attracts many senior personnel: Joelle Pineau - former Director of AI Research of Meta, holding the position of AI Director; Francois Chadwick - former finance leader at Uber, Shield AI, taking on the position of CFO.
This investment round is led by Radical Ventures and Inovia Capital, with the participation of current shareholders such as AMD Ventures, Nvidia, Salesforce Ventures. Notably, Oracle - the investor in Cohere in 2023, will not be present, in the context that the company is cooperating more deeply with OpenAI, especially the large-scale data center project Stargate.
