Canadian AI Company Cohere Announces Plan to Acquire German Firm Aleph Alpha

Canadian AI lab Cohere announced on Friday plans to acquire German AI company Aleph Alpha, aiming to expand its presence in Europe. As part of the deal, Schwarz Group plans to invest $600 million in Cohere's upcoming Series E round. Cohere expects to close its Series E round sometime in 2026, according to a source familiar with the company's plans.

The acquisition deal has not closed and is subject to regulatory conditions being met, with financial terms undisclosed. Through the planned deal, Cohere will look to boost its offering of secure customized AI for sectors including the public sector, finance, defense, energy, manufacturing, telecommunications and healthcare.

Aleph Alpha's experience in deploying AI in long-standing customer relationships provides a foundation for Cohere's sovereign offering.

The deal gives Cohere access to Europe's largest economy, a source familiar with Cohere's plans told CNBC. Aleph Alpha has existing commercial contracts with the German public sector. The company works with the Baden-Württemberg regional government.

Founded in 2019, Cohere has raised $1.6 billion from investors including Nvidia and AMD. The company was valued at $7 billion in 2025. Aleph Alpha was founded in 2019 to build large language models before pivoting to developing AI applications.

It raised more than $600 million in investor and grant funding, according to Dealroom.