Cohere, a Toronto-based AI startup offering an AI platform for enterprises, has landed $500 million in a Series D funding round. With this round, the company’s valuation hits $5.5 billion, as per Bloomberg. Last year, the company secured $270 million in a Series C funding round at a $2.2 billion valuation.
The investment came from Cisco, AMD, and Fujitsu (which invested in SettleMint and HappySignals) alongside participation from Canadian pension investment manager PSP Investments and Canada’s export credit agency EDC. Also, with this round, the total funding raised by the company accounts for $970 million.
The company is also scaling rapidly, with annualised revenue reaching $35 million by March 2024 from $13 million at the end of 2023. It plans to double its workforce this year with approximately 250 employees.
AI platform designed for enterprises
Founded in 2019 by two Canadian ex-Google researchers Aidan Gomez and Nick Frosst, Cohere has been building technology that businesses can use to deploy chatbots, search engines, and other AI-driven products.
Cohere’s AI platform is uniquely designed for enterprises, offering data-secure deployment options in companies’ existing cloud environments, customisation, and customer support. This includes an ecosystem of consulting and system integrator partners to help enterprises at any stage in their AI journey.
The company’s enterprise AI suite is cloud-agnostic, offering the highest levels of flexibility and data privacy. The platform is built to be available on every cloud provider, deployed inside a customers’ existing cloud environment, virtual private cloud (VPC), or even on-site, to meet companies where their data is. This empowers businesses to transform existing products and build the next era-defining generation of innovative solutions all while keeping their data secure.
Disrupts the AI market
Unlike some of its high-profile Silicon Valley counterparts, such as OpenAI and Google, Cohere focuses on practical solutions to enhance business efficiency rather than pursuing artificial general intelligence (AGI).
The company’s models are used by clients like Notion Labs and Oracle to optimise tasks including website copywriting, user communication, and integration of generative AI.
Cohere’s new model, Command R+, launched this spring, is its most advanced offering to date. It recently announced a partnership with Fujitsu Limited to develop and offer LLMs tailored for enterprises. The collaboration aims to leverage Japanese language capabilities to enhance customer and employee experiences. The partnership will see Fujitsu become the exclusive provider of these services globally through Fujitsu Data Intelligence.
Use cases
Notable use cases include a virtual shopping tool for a luxury brand and AI-powered financial document analysis for Toronto-Dominion Bank. Borderless AI leverages Cohere’s models to address complex employment law queries in multiple languages. The company’s technology supports applications in over ten languages, including English, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, and Japanese.
What do we think about Cohere?
The Canadian company revolutionises enterprise AI with its secure, flexible, and cloud-agnostic platform. By focusing on practical AI solutions, Cohere empowers businesses to enhance efficiency and innovation across various sectors.
With advanced models like Command R+ and strategic partnerships, such as with Fujitsu, Cohere is set to expand its global reach and impact. Its technology, supporting applications in multiple languages, ensures businesses can seamlessly integrate AI to transform operations and improve customer and employee experiences.
