Cohere, the Toronto- and San Francisco-based artificial intelligence (AI) startup backed by Nvidia, has announced a secondary share sale that will allow employees to sell a portion of their holdings to external investors.
The move provides employees with an opportunity to monetise their equity before any potential public offering or acquisition. Such tender offers are becoming increasingly common among high-valued startups as a way to offer liquidity to staff while remaining privately held.
Cohere was last valued at around US$7 billion during a funding round in September. The company has so far raised about US$1.6 billion from investors, including Nvidia and other prominent venture-capital firms.
The AI firm develops large language models and customisable AI software designed for enterprises. It has seen strong business growth this year, with annualised revenue reaching US$150 million — a significant rise from US$100 million in May, driven by growing adoption of its enterprise AI solutions.
Founded in 2019, Cohere is considered one of the competitors in the generative AI space, alongside OpenAI and Anthropic. The company’s focus on helping businesses build and deploy AI tools tailored to their specific needs has positioned it as a key player in the expanding enterprise AI ecosystem.
