Cohere to acquire German AI company Aleph Alpha as it looks to expand in Europe

canadian ai lab cohere is buying german ai company aleph alpha, a move to expand in europe. schwarz group, a key aleph alpha backer, plans to invest $600 million in cohere's upcoming series e round, expected to close in 2026. the deal hasn't closed yet and needs regulatory approval. financial terms weren't disclosed. cohere was founded in 2019 and has raised $1.6 billion from investors including nvidia and amd. it was valued at $7 billion in 2025. the acquisition gives cohere access to germany's public sector contracts, including work with the ministry for digital affairs and the baden-württemberg government. aleph alpha raised over $600 million in funding and pivoted from building llms to developing ai applications. cohere plans to use the deal to boost secure, customized ai for regulated sectors like public sector, finance, defense, and healthcare. ceo aidan gomez said the combination accelerates global expansion and delivers "sovereign ai" to nations. aleph alpha's co-ceo ilhan scheer called it a "real counterweight" for organizations that don't want to outsource control to a single provider.