Germany and Canada Are AI's $20 Billion Odd Couple
Germany’s minister for digitalization Karsten Wildberger speaks with Cohere boss Aidan Gomez at a press conference.
Photographer: Michael Kappeler/picture alliance via Getty Images
German artificial-intelligence startup Aleph Alpha GmbH had the markers of a European success story when it raised $500 million in 2023: A charismatic leader with Silicon Valley experience, a local billionaire backer in the shape of retail tycoon Dieter Schwarz and a government keen to nurture and champion a “sovereign” answer to the likes of Alphabet Inc. Today it faces an all too predictable end: A takeover by a larger North American rival after failing to scale up or raise the kind of cash needed to compete.
That’s the worrisome takeaway for Europe’s policymakers after the recent announcement of a planned merger between Canada’s enterprise-AI champion Cohere Inc. and Aleph Alpha at a reported valuation of $20 billion, presented as a kind of partnership of equals with global ambitions. “Sovereign AI for the world,” according to the deal announcement.