Cohere Marks Initial Close of $5B Series E at $20.5B Valuation

Cohere has completed the first close of a Series E that it expects to total up to $5 billion, at a $20.5 billion valuation, with the Government of Canada committing up to $1.14 billion, Bloomberg reported. Germany's Schwarz Group is leading. Bell Ventures and Bullhound Capital join as new backers; Inovia Capital, Nvidia and Prosperity7 Ventures return.

In Cohere's own announcement, the figures are stated in Canadian dollars: CAD $7 billion targeted, at a CAD $35.7 billion valuation. "Today we are announcing the initial close of our Series E, a record-setting round that marks the largest private capital raise in Canadian history," co-founder and CEO Aidan Gomez said in the statement.

Cohere said it ended the third quarter of 2026 with 165% year-over-year growth in annual recurring revenue, and that its customer base grew 20-fold over the past year to 300, including Aston Martin Aramco, Bell Canada, Fujitsu, RBC and TD Bank. The capital, the company said, will fund model development and scale "across North America, EMEA, and APAC" for regulated industries and governments.

How much of the $5 billion target is actually committed at this first close, and what terms attach to Ottawa's up-to-$1.14 billion equity, were not disclosed. It joins the 422 funding stories we've tracked in the last 90 days.