Cohere hits US$6.8-billion valuation and snags Meta's former AI head
Article content
The Toronto-headquartered company has also added a key figure to its AI personnel by hiring Meta Platforms Inc. 's former AI head Joelle Pineau as its chief AI officer. Pineau will lead the company's research and product development efforts from Montreal, where Cohere opened a new office last month – its second in Canada.
Article content
Article content
Its latest funding round was led by Toronto-based Radical Ventures Investments Inc. and Montreal-based Inovia Capital Inc., and included participation from existing investors such as chip behemoth Nvidia Corp., AMD Ventures, the venture capital arm of Advanced Micro Devices Inc., and the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan.
Article content
Its valuation has shot up from US$5.5 billion since its last funding round in June 2024 and has soared 200 per cent since its June 2023 fundraising round.
Article content
Article content
Though Cohere's size and business remain small compared to its Silicon Valley peers — the likes of OpenAI Inc. and Anthropic PBC, which are targeting valuations of US$300 billion and US$170 billion, respectively — it is hedging its bets on helping businesses and governments worldwide integrate its AI models and systems.
Article content
Article content
For example, it teamed up in January with the Royal Bank of Canada, the country's biggest bank and most valuable company, to develop North for Banking, an AI platform for financial services.
Article content
More recently, Cohere has announced a slew of private- and public-sector deals, in addition to new offices in Montreal and Seoul, South Korea.
Article content
In early August, Cohere launched its AI agent service and is working with 'large enterprises across key markets in North America, APAC, and EMEA' to integrate the platform. Last month, the company struck an alliance with BCE Inc. to sell AI tools to Canadian organizations.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Cision Canada
an hour ago
- Cision Canada
KuCoin Spotlight Drives AI Gaming Innovation: Launches Token Sale for AKEDO with Early Access, Exclusive Benefits, and Principal Protection
PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos Islands, Aug. 18, 2025 /CNW/ -- KuCoin, a leading global cryptocurrency exchange, is thrilled to announce the launch of its latest Spotlight token sale featuring AKEDO (AKE). This move highlights KuCoin's commitment to advancing groundbreaking Web3 innovations, especially where artificial intelligence, gaming, and blockchain converge. Founded in 2024 and based in Zug, Switzerland, AKEDO is a trailblazing multi-agent AI framework that transforms Web3 gaming with autonomous content creation and smart collaboration. As the first platform to embed AI agents directly into game engines, it lets users craft studio-quality games in minutes using simple natural language prompts—no coding skills needed—and does so 100 times faster and more affordably than traditional large language models. Starting as a Telegram-based "tap-to-earn" game called Akedog, AKEDO has grown into a full ecosystem that democratizes GameFi, merging user-generated content with on-chain ownership and genuine crypto rewards, akin to "TikTok meets Roblox" on the blockchain. Its cutting-edge setup spans multiple chains, including Solana (home to the AKE token), TON, BNB, Bera, and DuckChain, enabling earnings in $DOGE, $BNB, $USDT, and more through the "PlayDrop" feature. Via KuCoin Spotlight, users get early access to the AKE token sale, enabling investment in this game-changing project ahead of public listing. Key perks include: Securing tokens at a reduced price, with the Spotlight Fully Diluted Valuation (FDV) at 80% of the prior financing round, plus a 10% extra discount for KCS subscriptions. Guaranteed inclusion for everyone via over-subscription with proportional allocation, ensuring all participants get a share. Enhanced protection through a principal protection buyback, with details in the official announcement. Renowned for upgrades like a fresh UI, dual-crypto support, and staking perks, the Spotlight program keeps championing ventures that fuel innovation and empower users. For participation details, please visit the event landing page.
Vancouver Sun
2 hours ago
- Vancouver Sun
Air Canada strikers dig in against order: 'Can't fire us all'
(Bloomberg) — An Air Canada union wants to 'dismantle' a process the government is using to end strikes, a representative said after flight attendants defied an order to return to work on Sunday. 'If we stick together, they can't fire us all,' Wesley Lesosky, president of the Air Canada Component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees that represents more than 10,000 cabin crew, said in a public video call late on Sunday. 'The large national union behind us is fully supporting us for our cause, fully supporting the dismantling of the 107 process.' That's a reference to Section 107, the legal clause the government used to try and stop a walkout over pay which froze operations at Canada's largest airline. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. The strike since Saturday disrupts a crucial mode of transport for some communities across the world's second-largest country by area. The company estimated some 130,000 passengers a day were affected during the peak summer holiday season. On Saturday, the labor minister directed the independent Canada Industrial Relations Board to order the company and workers to resume operations, extend their collective agreement and impose binding arbitration to reach a new deal. The union defied that order to go back to work by 2 p.m. Sunday, forcing Air Canada to delay a plan to restart operations during the weekend. The Montreal-based carrier now plans to resume operations 4 p.m. Toronto time Monday, Lesosky said. Read: Air Canada Delays Resuming Flights as Strikers Defy Stop Order On Sunday night it was not clear how the labor board, government or company would seek to enforce the order. A hearing about whether the action is an illegal strike was being heard in front of the CIRB on Sunday night, Lesosky said. The labor board could determine this during the hearing itself, a union spokesman said by phone. 'We are here ready to bargain,' Lesosky said, adding that there's no agreement with the company on so-called ground pay, a key part of the dispute because attendants are currently only paid once planes are in the air. 'We're not willing to accept binding arbitration ordered and rammed down our throat,' he said. 'Our priority is our passengers and we regret very deeply the impact this illegal labor action is having on them,' an Air Canada spokesman said. The CIRB did not respond to a request for comment.
Winnipeg Free Press
3 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Qantas fined $59M for illegal pandemic layoffs
MELBOURNE (AP) — A judge on Monday fined Qantas Airways 90 million Australian dollars ($59 million) for illegally firing more than 1,800 ground staff at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. The penalty is in addition to the AU$120 million ($78 million) in compensation that Australia's biggest airline had already agreed to pay its former employees. Australian Federal Court Justice Michael Lee said the outsourcing of 1,820 baggage handler and cleaner jobs at Australian airports in late 2020 was the 'largest and most significant contravention' of relevant Australian labor laws in their 120-year history. Qantas agreed in December last year to pay AU$120 million ($78 million) in compensation to former staff after seven High Court judges unanimously rejected the Sydney-based airline's appeal against the judgment that outsourcing their jobs was illegal. The Transport Workers Union, which took the airline to court, had argued the airline should receive the largest fine available — AU$121,212,000 ($78,969,735). Lee ruled that the minimum fine to create a deterrence should be AU$90 million ($59 million), noting that Qantas executives had expected to save AU$125 million ($81 million) a year through outsourcing the jobs. Lee questioned the sincerity of Qantas's apology for its illegal conduct, noting that the airline later unsuccessfully argued that it owed no compensation to its former staff. 'If any further evidence was needed of the unrelenting and aggressive litigation strategy adopted in this case by Qantas, it is provided by this effort directed to denying any compensation whatsoever to those in respect of whom Qantas was publicly professing regret for their misfortune,' Lee said. 'I do think that the people in charge of Qantas now have some genuine regret, but this more likely reflects the damage that this case has done to the company rather than remorse for the damage done to the affected workers,' Lee added. Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson, who was the airline's chief financial officer during the layoffs, said in a statement after Monday's decision: 'We sincerely apologize to each and every one of the 1,820 ground handling employees and to their families who suffered as a result.' 'The decision to outsource five years ago, particularly during such an uncertain time, caused genuine hardship for many of our former team and their families,' she said. 'Over the past 18 months we've worked hard to change the way we operate as part of our efforts to rebuild trust with our people and our customers. This remains our highest priority as we work to earn back the trust we lost,' she added. Lee ruled that AU$50 million ($33 million) of the fine go to the union, because no Australian government agency had shown interest in investigating or prosecuting Qantas. 'But for the union … , Qantas' contravening conduct would never have been exposed and it would never have been held to account for its unlawful conduct,' Lee said. 'Hence the union has brought to the attention of the court a substantial and significant transgression of a public obligation by a powerful and substantial employer,' Lee added. A hearing will be held at a later date to decide where the remaining AU$40 million ($26 million) of the fine will go. Michael Kaine, national secretary of the union that represents 60,000 members, said he felt vindicated by Monday's ruling, which ends a five-year legal battle that Qantas had been widely expected to win. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. 'It is a significant — the most significant — industrial outcome in Australia's history and it sends a really clear message to Qantas and to every employer in Australia: Treat your work force illegally and you will be held accountable,' Kaine told reporters. 'Against all the odds, we took on a behemoth that had shown itself to be ruthless and we won,' Kaine added. Qantas has admitted illegally dealing with passengers as well as employees in its responses to pandemic economic challenges. Last year, Qantas agreed to pay AU$120 million ($78 million) in compensation and a fine for selling tickets on thousands of cancelled flights. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, a consumer watchdog, sued the airline in the Federal Court alleging that Qantas engaged in false, misleading or deceptive conduct by advertising tickets for more than 8,000 flights from May 2021 through to July 2022 that had already been canceled.
