Bell Canada and Cohere Forge Landmark Partnership to Deliver Sovereign AI for Canadian Enterprises and Government

In a significant move to bolster Canada's digital autonomy, Bell Canada and Toronto-based AI powerhouse Cohere announced a strategic partnership yesterday to provide sovereign, secure AI solutions for Canadian governments and businesses.

The collaboration, unveiled on Monday, July 28, 2025, will see Bell Canada become the preferred Canadian infrastructure provider for Cohere, while Cohere will serve as Bell’s primary supplier for cutting-edge large language models (LLMs) and agentic AI platforms. This alliance is set to deliver "full-stack sovereign AI solutions," a term that signifies an end-to-end ecosystem where Canadian data is stored, processed, and managed entirely within Canada's borders, under the nation's legal framework.

At the heart of the partnership is the integration of Cohere's enterprise-grade AI suite, including its advanced agentic AI platform 'North,' into Bell's "AI Fabric." Announced earlier this year, Bell's AI Fabric is an ambitious project that includes the development of six new AI data centres, providing robust, hydroelectric-powered compute capacity.

This ensures that sensitive data belonging to government bodies and Canadian enterprises will not be subject to the laws and jurisdiction of foreign nations, a critical concern for public sector and regulated industries like finance and healthcare.

"At a critical time for Canada, we're proud to partner with Cohere to create a sovereign, full-stack AI solution, custom-built to support Canadian government and business," said Mirko Bibic, President and CEO of Bell Canada, in a statement. "Working together, we will both transform Canadian businesses through cutting edge AI capabilities, while ensuring that the data remains secure and within Canada."

The partnership addresses a growing demand for data sovereignty. As AI becomes more integrated into core business and government operations, control over the data used to train and run these models has become a paramount security and competitive issue. By leveraging Cohere's globally recognized, security-first AI models on Bell's national infrastructure, Canadian organizations can now deploy world-class AI without compromising data privacy.

Aidan Gomez, co-founder and CEO of Cohere, emphasized the transformative potential of the collaboration. "Our partnership with Bell Canada will provide the Canadian government and enterprises with world-class options for sovereign, security-first AI," Gomez stated. "This has the potential to be truly transformative for organizations looking to massively increase their productivity and efficiency without any compromise on data security and privacy."

This move is also a major step in Bell's evolution from a traditional telecommunications giant into a technology-first company. The partnership will not only cater to external clients but will also see Bell deploy Cohere's platform internally to enhance its own operations and drive efficiency.

For Canada, this alliance represents a cornerstone of its national AI strategy, fostering homegrown innovation and ensuring the nation remains a key player on the global AI stage while protecting its digital borders.