This week, leading Canadian AI systems provider, Cohere, announced plans to build a supercomputer in Canada in the coming months. The project, partially funded by the Canadian government, will enable the country to train and develop state-of-the-art AI systems and retain its AI talent. Here’s what you need to know.
Cohere’s New Facility
It’s too early to have all the details on the Cohere’s data center. However, the company shared some tidbits of information publicly. For one, the new facility will utilize Nvidia’s (NVDA -1.89%) latest chips. Nvidia is heavily invested in the AI economy and is a major backer of Cohere.
- Source – Cohere Homepage Founders
Cohere’s data center will serve several roles in the Canadian tech sector. It will provide reliable, high-performance computing power to the country’s engineers and researchers, allowing the nation to retain its prominent position in the AI revolution. Notably, the facility will be online by the end of 2025.
Partnerships
Cohere has always had strong support from the institutional investment sector and the tech market. As such, it consistently secures strategic partnerships with leading manufacturers, research firms, and educational institutions. The latest project includes the Canadian government.
Canadian Government
The Canadian government pledged $240M CAD in support of the new facility. This funding comes from the Canadian Sovereign AI Compute Strategy budget which allocates $2B towards ensuring Canada doesn’t fall behind in the AI race.
Discussing the decision to back Cohere, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland spoke on his nation’s commitment to staying in the AI race and how this support will boost the country’s capabilities. He also commented on how the officials are expediting the process to ensure that it doesn’t get bogged down in “red tape.”
CoreWeave
Cohere will work with the American cloud computing firm, CoreWeave, to build the facility. CoreWeave’s cloud services include CPU computing, virtual servers, storage, networking, and more. The company has seen substantial growth due to increased demand for AI and ML protocols.
Cohere’s 5th Anniversary
The launch of the new Canadian supercomputer coincides with Cohere’s 5th anniversary. The company remains a pioneering force that continues to shape the evolution of the AI market. Today, it’s known for its enterprise-focused products, including private deployment solutions and plug-and-play options.
Pivot Towards Enterprise
Cohere is the only top-performing AI solutions provider that exclusively focuses on enterprise clientele. This approach enabled the firm to carve out a niche in a fast-growing market. Additionally, their research revealed several roadblocks to enterprise AI adoption. Those issues are unique to businesses and must be addressed to accelerate AI integration.
Roadblocks to Enterprise Adoption
There are several roadblocks to adoption according to Cohere’s research. For one, the complexity of tailoring and integrating AI systems can leave businesses in a situation where they desire the tech but can’t find affordable talent to build their custom systems. Cohere provides full integration into the company’s current systems including email, chat, internal data, and CRMs, enabling their AI model to access sensitive data when needed.
Data Security and Privacy
The Cohere team found that businesses have questions regarding security and privacy. These concerns are valid as many sectors that would benefit from the integration require strong privacy. Specifically, government, finance, energy, and healthcare enterprise clientele need to be confident their data is secure. Cohere offers enterprise-grade security solutions that work with existing systems directly.
False Belief in Scaling
Another issue that Cohere noted during its research was a false belief that scaling issues were the main roadblocks to enterprise adoption. The team found that even if the computational power of an AI system increased, it didn’t necessarily mean the performance and accuracy of the system improved. It was revealed that investments in smarter data collection and training methods are the best option.
Cohere Seeks to Shorten Time-to-Value
Cohere’s business-centric approach enables the company to emphasize time-to-value. The firm demonstrates this focus through its easy deployment and customization options. Businesses can skip the initial 12 months of development using the plug-and-play options. This strategy allows clients to put their efforts towards their customized AI protocols.
LLMs Innovation
Cohere continues to push the boundaries of LLM systems in its quest to drive adoption. The company offers use-case-tailored AI protocols designed to eliminate these roadblocks and empower businesses to innovate AI to suit their needs.
Customized Solutions
Part of Cohere’s flexibility focuses on enabling businesses to utilize their own hardware or cloud services. The company supports secure private deployment and offers plug-and-play solutions that speed up this process. This customization can help companies get the most out of their hardware rather than having to abandon their investments for cloud options.
Supplier vs. Tech Partner
Much of Cohere’s’ success comes from its desire to be a true tech partner to its clients rather than just a supplier. Many companies in the AI market want to offer a product and get paid. This approach can work for the consumer market, but to entice large institutional enterprise-level clientele, you must provide high-level tech support and ensure interoperability with legacy systems.
Oracle Partnership
The Oracle integration is a perfect example of how Cohere’s tech partnership works. The company partnered with Oracle to enhance its features across Netsuite and Fusion apps. The strategic partnership was a huge success which improved the UX and popularity of the apps.
Fujitsu Partnership
Cohere has a strategic partnership with Fujitsu that demonstrates how the company’s customized approach is ideal for large conglomerates. The partnership saw Cohere co-develop a Japanese-based AI model called Takane. This LLM has helped Fujitsu better service its home client base.
AI 2.0
Cohere seeks to usher in the AI 2.0 movement. These systems will be more than chatbots. They will conduct tasks that require working with third-party software like traditional employees. Enterprises will customize these end-to-end solutions to automate a majority of their tasks, reducing costs and improving service levels.
Cohere
Cohere entered the market in 2019. Its goal is to provide enterprise-grade AI solutions to large businesses. The company’s founders include former Google (GOOGL +4.79%) researchers, and it has significant backing. It recently received a $5.5B valuation and is currently one of only a select few AI companies that focus on enterprise clientele. As such, it’s positioned for growth.
New Facility Equals New Growth
Cohere’s latest venture will place it at the heart of Canadian AI tech and further cement the company’s positioning in the market, driving demand for its pre-IPO shares. As such, you can expect to hear a lot more from Cohere in the coming weeks as its new facility goes live.
Learn More About Investing in Cohere Pre-IPO Shares
