The trend of introducing artificial intelligence (AI) models across various industries is becoming more pronounced.
Samsung Electronics and SKT are developing their own AI models and integrating them into their internal systems, while Shinhan Bank is seeking to enhance work efficiency by adopting external AI solutions. Recently, LG CNS also announced it will develop and implement its own large-scale language model (LLM) in partnership with Cohere, a leading provider of customized AI services for corporations.
Aidan Gomez, founder and CEO of the customized AI startup Cohere, noted in a written interview with ChosunBiz on 31st that "We are at a turning point where AI is beginning to be fully integrated into various industries," adding that as AI models become more intelligent, the use of 'agent AI' by corporations will expand.
Agent AI refers to AI that autonomously plans and executes tasks to achieve objectives when instructed by a person.
Cohere is a Canadian AI startup that provides customized AI services to corporations. It was co-founded in 2019 by three researchers from Google Brain, who saw opportunities in specialized large-scale language models (LLMs).
Cohere received $40 million (approximately 52 billion won) in Series A funding from Index Ventures and others in 2021. In July 2024, it raised $500 million (approximately 680 billion won) in Series D funding from AMD Ventures, NVIDIA, Cisco, and others. The company's current valuation is estimated at around $5.5 billion (approximately 7.48 trillion won).
Cohere aims to improve the operational efficiency of corporations. To achieve this, it operates various module-based LLMs, including ▲command-based language model Command ▲search result reordering optimization model Rerank ▲similarity search-supporting model Embed.
CEO Gomez explained, "By integrating various types of data through product combinations, we can implement advanced multimodal systems, combine text search with vector search for semantic search, and realize agent technology."
CEO Gomez highlighted that the competitiveness of Cohere stems from its specialization in B2B models and strong security. He emphasized, "Unlike competitors who focus on both B2C and B2B, Cohere is designed specifically with a structure dedicated to corporate models." He also said, "We will continue to focus solely on achieving the best results in the corporate sector."
CEO Gomez further stated that through on-premise and private deployments, security and privacy are strengthened by ensuring that customer data is utilized only within the corporation. Because of these characteristics, it is being adopted in heavily regulated industries such as healthcare, tech, finance, manufacturing, and the public sector.
CEO Gomez revealed plans to expand into the Korean and Asian markets in the future.
Currently, Cohere has global clients including Fujitsu, Oracle, and Notion. It also provides AI solution services to various corporations, offering the Command, Embed, and Rerank models on Microsoft Azure.
He said, "Korea is a market with a dynamic technology ecosystem and innovation," and added, "We will continue to expand strategic partnerships with major global corporations like LG CNS in Korea and Fujitsu in Japan."
In response to a question about plans for an IPO, he replied, "If Cohere's technology successfully changes the way corporations operate, everything else will naturally follow."