TLDR:
- Toronto-based AI startup Cohere secured a $450 million investment from corporate giants like Salesforce, Nvidia, and Cisco, valued at $5 billion.
- Cohere builds large language models that enable AI to learn from new data and create applications like interactive chat or text generation.
Salesforce, Nvidia, and Cisco have invested in AI startup Cohere at a $5 billion valuation, with Toronto-based Cohere securing a $450 million investment from these big-named corporate investors. This investment, which is expected to be the first tranche in the round, is more than double Cohere’s previous valuation following a $270 million Series C round led by Inovia Capital last June. Other investors in Cohere’s previous round included Nvidia, Oracle, Salesforce Ventures, DTCP, and SentinelOne, along with financial institutions and VC firms like Mirae Asset, Schroders Capital, Thomvest Ventures, and Index Ventures. Cohere’s technology focuses on building large language models that allow AI to learn from new data and be customized for various applications such as interactive chat and text generation.
The article mentions the increasing trend of valuation jumps for AI startups, with examples like CoreWeave securing a $1.1 billion round led by Coatue, valuing the company at $19 billion, and Paris-based Mistral AI expected to close a $600 million round valuing it at $6 billion. Cisco Investments also announced the launch of a $1 billion AI investment fund to support startups and expand the development of AI solutions. Cisco has already made strategic investments in companies like Cohere, Mistral AI, and Scale AI, committing nearly $200 million of the fund to date. Overall, the article highlights the growing interest and investments in AI technology from major corporate players and the trend of skyrocketing valuations in the AI startup ecosystem.