TLDR:
- Toronto-based Cohere raises $500 million in Series D at a $5.5 billion valuation.
- The round is led by Canadian pension investment manager PSP Investments and includes big names like Cisco, Fujitsu, and AMD Ventures.
Toronto-based Cohere has secured a significant $500 million Series D funding round at a valuation of $5.5 billion. The round, which had been anticipated for months, includes investments from key players such as Canadian pension investment manager PSP Investments, Cisco, Fujitsu, and AMD Ventures. Notably, Nvidia and Salesforce Ventures are reported to have also participated in the funding. Cohere specializes in building large language models that allow AI to learn from new data and can be tailored to create applications like interactive chat features or text generation. In June 2023, the company raised $270 million in a Series C round led by Inovia Capital at a valuation of $2.2 billion, with investments from notable entities like Nvidia, Oracle, and Salesforce Ventures.
This latest funding announcement highlights the ongoing trend of substantial investments in AI startups, as investors attempt to secure positions in this rapidly evolving market. With AI-related startups raising a total of $39.4 billion this year, surpassing last year’s funding levels at the same period, the influx of funds demonstrates the eagerness of investors to capitalize on the potential of generative AI technologies. The achievement of Cohere in securing major investments underscores the fierce competition in the AI industry and the growing importance of scalable language models in various applications.
