Cohere executive won’t confirm company would remain Canadian-owned amid merger rumours

Cohere Inc. chief AI (artificial intelligence) officer Joëlle Pineau would not confirm that the company will remain Canadian-owned amid rumours it is considering a merger with Germany’s Aleph Alpha GmbH. In an appearance before the House industry and technology committee on April 13, Pineau stressed the importance of Canadian control when it comes to AI adoption, innovation, and regulation. “Without actively building sovereign AI capacity, we risk absolute reliance on foreign infrastructure, and losing decades of economic benefit,” Pineau told committee members. She also referenced Cohere’s partnership with BCE Inc.’s Bell Canada, calling it proof that “Canadian organizations can adopt AI securely, keeping critical infrastructure within our borders.” But when asked by Conservative MP Raquel Dancho (Kildonan–St. Paul, Man.) whether Cohere would remain Canadian-owned and headquartered following any merger, Pineau would not confirm, stating it is not her place to comment. “What I can certainly assure you is . . . Cohere was built in Canada, the founders are Canadian. We have growing teams in Canada, we just opened a team in Montreal, an office that I’m growing myself,” she said. “So I am fully confident that Canada will continue to be the home for a lot of the work that Cohere is doing.” A day after the committee meeting Pineau said in a social media post that Cohere will "always remain headquartered" in Canada. According to Reuters, citing reports from German newspaper Handelsblatt, the companies have Berlin’s support for the potential merger. It also noted the German government “would be willing to become a key customer of a combined company.” Dancho raised concerns about the potential merger, given the government’s 2025 investment of $240 million in Cohere to help build Canada’s sovereign AI capacity. When asked about the merger, Cohere said it does not comment on “market rumours or speculation” in an email to The Wire Report on April 10, Pineau did not confirm or deny the rumours during committee. In its statement, Cohere said, “as part of the Canada‑Germany Sovereign Technology Alliance and our international expansion efforts, Cohere meets with companies and institutions across Germany and Europe and continually evaluates strategic opportunities that support our global growth.” During her appearance, Pineau said Cohere “is Canada’s only foundational model lab at global scale,” and that the company’s large language models (LLM) place Canada among just three other nations who have a functioning LLM — the U.S., China, and France — a message AI Minister Evan Solomon (Toronto Centre, Ont.) frequently echoes. When asked what a Cohere-Aleph Alpha merger would mean for Canadian AI innovation and sovereignty, Solomon’s office said “we do not comment on private commercial discussions between companies” in a message to The Wire Report The statement added that Solomon and German Digital Modernization Minister Karsten Wildberger have been working closely to “deepen cooperation on trusted AI, secure infrastructure, and shared strategic priorities.” In an email statement to The Wire Report from the German Embassy to Canada, Wildberger was quoted as saying “if leading AI companies from Canada and Germany were to join forces, it would send a very strong signal.” “AI is not just about powerful models and global scaling, but also about key issues of sovereignty — for Germany and Europe,” the statement noted. The statement from Solomon’s office added that “more broadly, Canada supports deeper cooperation with trusted partners like Germany where it advances innovation, economic growth, and secure sovereign technology capacity.” “Our focus is clear: we want Canadian AI companies to grow, compete globally, and help build trusted AI capacity with like-minded partners.” mcollins@thewirereport.ca Editor's note: This story has been updated to include a statement posted on social media by Joëlle Pineau on April 14.

Cohere executive won’t confirm company would remain Canadian-owned amid merger rumours

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By Maria Collins
|April 14, 2026

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