The federal government is making a $1.6-billion equity investment in Toronto-based AI company Cohere, AI minister Evan Solomon said, allowing the company to scale up and compete in the global AI market. Solomon would not disclose the commercial terms, but the new money values Cohere at nearly $36 billion, making the government’s stake equate to just short of five per cent. The move gives Canada “a seat at the table,” Solomon said, will keep Cohere headquartered in Canada and require the company to invest $1.7 billion in computing infrastructure in this country. The article notes that Cohere aims to raise $7 billion from the feds and other investors like Germany’s Schwarz Group, chipmaker NVIDIA and Bell Ventures, the venture capital arm of BCE. Jim Balsillie, former chair of Research In Motion and current chair of the Council of Canadian Innovators, said he doesn’t have a good feeling about the Cohere investment. “There are red flags all over this one and it raises the prospect of surprises of rent-seeking behaviour,” he said. “Unfortunately, it undermines the imperative for strategic government investments.” Concerns in the broader tech community extend from Cohere’s performance to the tightly knit Canadian tech C suites.