Canadian AI company Cohere plans to expand its presence in Europe

Canadian company Cohere, specializing in artificial intelligence solutions, has announced the opening of an office in Paris, which will serve as its operational hub in the EMEA region. The decision to expand is driven by growing demand for enterprise AI solutions in Europe, as well as by the political and business support that France provides in the field of digital technologies.

According to Cohere co-founder and CEO Aidan Gomez, Paris was not chosen by chance: the city offers a strong talent ecosystem, strategic location, and an active government policy aimed at developing digital sovereignty. French authorities, including President Emmanuel Macron, have repeatedly declared their ambition to make the country one of the key centers for artificial intelligence development in Europe.

The new office will allow Cohere to strengthen its position in the European market and increase competition with local players, including the French startup Mistral AI, which this year reached a valuation of around €11.7 billion. In its most recent funding round, Cohere was valued at $6.8 billion, making it one of the largest Canadian AI startups.

Initially, the Paris office will scale to a team of about 40 employees, including specialists in engineering, business, and regulatory affairs. The company emphasizes that the primary focus in the region will be on enterprise clients, for whom a high level of security, data protection, and the ability to deploy AI models locally are crucial. This approach allows companies to use AI in line with their internal data and regulatory compliance requirements.

Cohere expects that the new European center will help accelerate business growth amid intensifying competition and increasing corporate interest in adopting AI technologies. The opening of the Paris office also symbolizes a broader trend: Europe is striving to reduce dependence on American and Asian technologies by building its own infrastructure in strategically important sectors.