Toronto-based Cohere, which develops sovereign AI systems for regulated industries and governments, said on October 29 it had reached an initial close of a series E round targeting up to US$5 billion, implying a US$25.5 billion valuation.

It follows a US$500 million fundraise announced in August 2025 at a US$6.8 billion valuation.

Schwarz Group companies are leading the round. Schwarz Group is a German retail and cloud conglomerate, and its cloud provider STACKIT describes itself as “the sovereign cloud for companies.”

New backers include Bell Ventures, Bullhound Capital, and the Government of Canada.

Returning investors include Nvidia, Inovia Capital, and Prosperity7 Ventures.

Bell and Cohere previously partnered on sovereign AI services for Canadian government and business customers.

Cohere said it will use the funding for models, industry-specific products, and computing infrastructure.

Separately, Ottawa finalized an investment in March 2025. Canada also has a sovereign AI compute strategy.

🔗 Source: Cohere

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