Toronto‑based Cohere and Heidelberg‑based Aleph Alpha announced a merger in Berlin that values the combined entity at roughly $20 billion. The deal gives Cohere’s shareholders about 90% of the new firm and Aleph Alpha’s shareholders 10%, effectively making it a Cohere acquisition framed as a merger. German Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger and Canada’s AI and Digital Innovation Minister Evan Solomon attended the launch, underscoring the geopolitical stakes. The German government will serve as an anchor customer, providing early revenue and political backing as the two firms aim to offer a non‑U.S. alternative for enterprise and public‑sector AI services. Read more →

Alphabet's Google will invest $10 billion in AI startup Anthropic now, with an option to add $30 billion if the firm hits performance targets. The agreement also secures five gigawatts of Google‑provided TPU capacity by 2027 and mirrors a similar multi‑billion‑dollar pact the startup struck with Amazon earlier this year. Anthropic, fresh from a $30 billion funding round, will rely on Google’s silicon and cloud infrastructure as part of the deal, underscoring the growing trend of circular investments in the artificial‑intelligence sector. Read more →