{"id":8745,"date":"2026-04-18T01:57:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T01:57:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/8745\/"},"modified":"2026-04-18T01:57:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T01:57:17","slug":"canada-needs-global-partners-on-ai-to-counter-hyperscalers-says-joly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/8745\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada needs global partners on AI to counter hyperscalers, says Joly"},"content":{"rendered":"

OTTAWA \u2014 Canada needs to work with international partners in artificial intelligence to counter U.S. protectionism and the rising power of hyperscalers, Industry Minister M\u00e9lanie Joly told The Logic, in remarks that suggest a potential merger of Cohere with German AI firm Aleph Alpha could play a role in efforts to build a \u201ctrading bloc\u201d of like-minded countries.<\/p>\n

While careful not to comment on the talks specifically, Joly said Cohere is \u201ca gem\u201d that Canada needs to \u201cbe able to develop.\u201d In conversations with the German government and businesses, she has stressed her goal to \u201cbuild a national champion,\u201d the minister added.<\/p>\n

Talking Points<\/p>\n

Industry Minister M\u00e9lanie Joly says Canada needs a \u201ctrading bloc\u201d with international partners in AI and quantum computing to counter U.S. protectionism and the power of technology hyperscalers
\nHer remarks shed light on how Ottawa is thinking about a potential merger between Toronto-based Cohere and German AI firm Aleph Alpha<\/p>\n

The world is going through a new \u201cindustrial revolution\u201d powered by artificial intelligence and, eventually, quantum computing, Joly said Wednesday in the interview, adding the federal government considers AI to be an important driver of economic growth in Canada<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the same time, we need to create a new trading bloc of countries that can counter U.S. protectionism, and\u2026 the power of the hyperscalers,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Joly was responding to a question about Toronto-based Cohere, which the German business daily Handelsblatt reported<\/a> last week was in discussions to merge<\/a> with Aleph Alpha, a startup based in Heidelberg that makes software to help businesses use AI. Both firms have made AI sovereignty part of their pitch, and secured the financial and commercial backing of governments and big businesses in their home countries.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tRelated Articles<\/p>\n

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\n\t\"Cohere\t<\/a><\/p>\n

The Canadian and German governments are being kept informed on deal talks, according to a source familiar with the matter. The Logic granted the person anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Cohere is likely to be the senior partner in any deal with Aleph Alpha, the source said.<\/p>\n

Berlin has expressed support for the deal, without confirming it. \u201cIf leading AI companies from Canada and Germany were to join forces, it would send a very strong signal,\u201d German Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger said in a statement to The Logic. AI touches on issues of sovereignty for his country and for Europe, he said. \u201cThat is why we need strong players who can bring together cutting-edge research, innovative products, and sovereign infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n

While AI Minister Evan Solomon oversees the sector, Joly is the minister in charge of the Investment Canada Act, which governs large and strategically significant takeovers of Canadian companies. That means an eventual deal could end up on her desk for review, which is why she said she cannot speak specifically about it. She said her answer would always be: \u201cWe will follow the process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, Joly spoke of the need to find a way forward at a time of \u201ctense geopolitics\u201d in a \u201cmuch more chaotic and divided world.\u201d That is one reason the federal government has been going to Europe and working on \u201creinforcing Cohere,\u201d Joly said, adding that it is taking this approach with other Canadian companies with AI applications.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to be able to, concretely speaking, create this trading bloc, to have businesses working together, to anchor clear national champions that will then have an impact on the supply chain,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s what we\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joly suggested the federal government wants to avoid a past pattern in Canadian business where \u201cgood stories\u201d end badly because companies lack access to capital. \u201cRight now I\u2019m very much aware that we need to develop different trading relationships,\u201d she said. \u201cWe need to put companies together to do business together.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Joly was speaking ahead of her trip next week to Hannover Messe, a major advanced manufacturing trade fair in northern Germany. Cohere will be among the nearly 100 Canadian exhibitors taking part<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Founded in September 2019, the firm is one of a handful around the world that develops its own foundational AI models. It also sells tools to businesses that let them analyze data and set up AI agents to which they can delegate workplace tasks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cohere has raised about US$1.6 billion to date, according to PitchBook data, including a US$600 million round closed<\/a> in September 2025 that valued it at US$7 billion and was co-led<\/a> by Toronto-based Radical Ventures and Montreal-based Inovia Capital. Cohere\u2019s investors also include federal agencies the Business Development Bank of Canada and Export Development Canada. It also has the backing of top domestic pension funds the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System and the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan.<\/p>\n

Ottawa is doing more than calling Cohere a national champion in the AI race. It awarded<\/a> the firm $240 million to help pay for compute capacity and committing<\/a> to test its products for potential adoption in the public service. Cohere has also partnered with major vendors hoping to win public-sector business, including telecom giant Bell<\/a> and defence contractors Hanwha<\/a>, Saab<\/a>, Thales<\/a> and TKMS<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Earlier this week, Cohere chief AI officer Joelle Pineau said<\/a> the firm will \u201calways remain headquartered\u201d in Canada. She had posted on X after questions at a parliamentary committee concerning the reports of the Aleph Alpha deal.<\/p>\n

German institutions have heavily backed Aleph Alpha. Also founded in 2019, the firm got out<\/a> of the foundation model business in mid-2024, instead focusing on software that clients use to build chatbots and AI applications. Customers include the German military<\/a>, and the firm has raised about US$520 million to date, per PitchBook.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But Aleph Alpha hasn\u2019t announced new external financing since<\/a> November 2023. Its major shareholder<\/a> is now the Schwarz Group, the industrial conglomerate behind the Lidl discount grocery chain, which the Liberal government once considered courting<\/a> to set up in Canada. Aleph Alpha founder Jonas Andrulis stepped down<\/a> as CEO last October.<\/p>\n

Chip behemoth Nvidia and German software giant SAP are investors in both Cohere and Aleph Alpha.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"OTTAWA \u2014 Canada needs to work with international partners in artificial intelligence to counter U.S. protectionism and the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8746,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4882,439,17,4883,235,3838,290],"class_list":{"0":"post-8745","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-canada","8":"tag-aleph-alpha","9":"tag-artificial-intelligence","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-cohere","12":"tag-economy","13":"tag-melanie-joly","14":"tag-national"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8745"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8745\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8746"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}