Canadian AI startup Cohere announced plans to establish local subsidiaries in Korea and Japan and double its technology and sales workforce in the Asia-Pacific region, at a press conference held on the morning of the 5th at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. President and Head of Asia-Pacific Jang Hwajin and Chief Revenue Officer Frank Odawood attended the event. Cohere’s expansion strategy targets sovereign AI demand in the region, citing market research firm IDC data that 80% of Asia-Pacific enterprises are expected to prioritize AI sovereignty when adopting AI for core operations. Over the past year, Cohere’s customer base in Asia-Pacific has grown fivefold, and the company aims to more than triple its regional customer base over the next year. Cohere plans to expand its business footprint in the region to four times the current level by the end of 2027. Last year, Cohere established its Asia-Pacific hub in Seoul. In Korea, Cohere will establish a separate legal entity, and in Japan, it will found a local subsidiary, strengthen partnerships with companies such as Fujitsu, and expand collaboration with public institutions in Singapore. Founded by former Google Brain researchers in Canada in 2019, Cohere offers custom AI models and the agentic AI platform ‘North’ and has raised a cumulative total of 1.6 billion dollars (approximately 2.28 trillion won) to date.