The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, Oct. 30, edition that Ottawa is investing up to $1.6-billion in Cohere as part of a $7-billion financing, marking its stake in what it views as a Canadian artificial intelligence champion. The Globe's Murad Hemmadi and Joe Castaldo write that Cohere has secured most of a funding round, valuing it at $35.7-billion, making it the largest-ever financing for a Canadian start-up and positioning it as Canada's most valuable privately held tech company. The round was led by German retail giant Schwarz Group and includes funding from Bell Canada's venture arm and Luxembourg-based Bullhound Capital. Returning backers that have committed to the financing include chip giant Nvidia, Montreal's Inovia Capital, and Prosperity7 Ventures, an arm of Saudi Aramco. The federal government's significant equity investment in Cohere is notable as it operates in the capital-intensive AI industry with elusive profits. This deal is part of Ottawa's strategy to strengthen Canada's AI capabilities and economic sovereignty. Cohere chief financial officer Francois Chadwick said the financing is necessary for the company to invest in compute infrastructure, develop its AI models and expand globally.