Cohere, a leading Canadian artificial intelligence laboratory, revealed its intentions to acquire Aleph Alpha, a German AI firm, as part of its strategy to significantly expand its presence throughout Europe.
Under the terms of the agreement, Schwarz Group, a significant supporter of Aleph Alpha, intends to invest $600 million in Cohere's forthcoming Series E funding round.
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According to a source knowledgeable about Cohere's strategies, the company anticipates finalizing this funding round in 2026.
The transaction has not yet been finalized, and the takeover is contingent upon the fulfillment of regulatory requirements. The financial specifics of the agreement remain undisclosed.
“Combining the strengths of Cohere and Aleph Alpha accelerates our global expansion and advances our mission to deliver sovereign AI to nations around the world,” said Aidan Gomez, cofounder and CEO at Cohere.
“This transatlantic partnership unlocks the massive scale, robust infrastructure, and world-class R&D talent required to meet that demand,” he added.
“Built on the bedrock of shared Canadian and German values — where privacy, security and responsible innovation are paramount — we are uniquely positioned to be the world’s trusted AI partner”.
Established in 2019, Cohere has successfully secured $1.6 billion in funding from investors such as Nvidia and AMD. By 2025, the company had attained a valuation of $7 billion.
Through the intended agreement, Cohere aims to enhance its portfolio of secure, tailor-made artificial intelligence solutions tailored for industries with stringent regulations, including government, finance, defense, energy, manufacturing, telecommunications, and healthcare.
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According to Cohere, Aleph Alpha's extensive experience in implementing AI within enduring client partnerships establishes a crucial base for this sovereign offering.
Aleph Alpha’s current commercial agreements with the German public sector were also a point of interest, they noted. The firm collaborates with the German Ministry for Digital Affairs and State Modernization, as well as the regional government of Baden-Württemberg.
Aleph Alpha was established in 2019 with the initial aim of creating large language models (LLMs) before shifting its focus towards the development of AI applications. According to Dealroom, the company successfully secured over $600 million through investor and grant funding.
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“Together with Cohere, we are building a real counterweight for organizations that refuse to outsource control over their AI to a single provider or jurisdiction, giving European institutions and enterprises access to powerful, yet controllable AI they can truly own,” said Ilhan Scheer, Co-CEO of Aleph Alpha.