BUSINESSCompanies · · Source: Government of Canada (Prime Minister)
Cohere: Lidl owner Schwarz leads giant round as Canada buys in
Cohere, the AI company in the process of absorbing Germany's Aleph Alpha, is raising up to C$7 billion in a new round led by Schwarz Group, owner of Lidl and Kaufland. Canada's government announced its own equity stake on October 29, 2026.
The numbers
- Round: a target of up to C$7 billion (about €4.5 billion). Trending Topics describes this as a first close; Cohere hasn't said how much is committed so far.
- Valuation: about C$35.7 billion (roughly €22.9 billion).
- Government: Canada is investing up to about C$1.6 billion, paid in stages.
- Other backers: including Nvidia and Bell.
What Canada asked for
Cohere has committed to creating at least 1,000 new technical jobs in Canada by 2030, putting at least C$1.7 billion into additional computing capacity there, and keeping its incorporation and headquarters in Canada. Progress will be reported regularly.
Why Europe should care
Cohere and Aleph Alpha announced their combination in April. Canada's government already calls the merger “recent”, while Trending Topics reports it hasn't closed yet and still needs regulatory approval. According to the same report, the Aleph Alpha brand will disappear, Heidelberg stays on as a research hub and Berlin becomes a second headquarters next to Toronto. Schwarz plans to bring Cohere's models into its STACKIT cloud.
Cohere mainly sells to companies and public bodies that want control over where sensitive data sits and who can reach it. Its revenue figure is relative only: Cohere says annual recurring revenue grew 165% in the year to the end of September. It doesn't publish an absolute number.
What this means for you
- If you use Aleph Alpha products, ask your vendor what happens to contracts, support and product names after the merger.
- With Cohere and Mistral, two sizeable vendors now promise deployment in your own environment. That improves your position as a buyer.
- “European AI” is getting more complicated: part of the money is German, but the headquarters and commitments sit in Canada.
Luigi's take
From a marketing point of view, “sovereign” is the industry's favourite word right now. This story shows how much sits behind it and how much doesn't: a German retail group co-finances, a German AI company merges into a Canadian one, and the Canadian government secures headquarters and jobs for its own country by commitment. That's not bad, but it isn't a purely European answer.
My advice: ask any vendor that sells sovereignty three things. Where does the model run, who owns the company, and what happens to your contract if it's sold? The answers tell you more than any headline. And stay flexible. If a vendor can lose its name, your process should survive that.
Source
More sources
- Trending Topics – Rundengröße, Bewertung, Stand der Aleph-Alpha-Fusion
This article was researched and written with AI assistance. Responsible: Luigi Lugmayr.
