Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez says Canada could become a data centre superpower

As Canada pitches itself to global investors this week, the CEO of the country’s AI champion thinks Canada has a potentially “extraordinary” role to play in data centre development. 

The news: In a conversation with Inovia Capital partner Chris Arsenault at the Canadian Global Growth Forum on Monday, Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez said he believed Canada has the potential to become a superpower in data centres. 

Gomez said that if Canada can address valid public concerns on water and energy consumption, as well as carbon emissions, the country is in a unique position to gain leverage on the world stage by becoming a global supplier of compute. 

From the source: “We have many strengths in terms of data centres: we have a cold climate with the second-largest landmass of any country in the world,” Gomez said on stage. “We have space, we have clean energy.” 

”We’re very well positioned to become a superpower in data centres,” Gomez added. “We can do that if we choose to.”

The context: Gomez’s remarks follow recent developments by the federal government and some provinces to set ground rules for data centre development across Canada. Last week, the federal government announced 23 signatories, including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Cohere, to a new Responsible Data Centre Development Principles. The principles aim to address public concerns around the potential impacts of the buildout, such as on the environment and local resources. 

Market research firm Mordor Intelligence pegs Canada’s data centre market at nearly $14 billion USD ($19 billion CAD), a figure the firm estimates could nearly double by 2031. 

Final thought: Cohere’s leaders continue to weigh in publicly on hot-button AI issues. As global AI firms like Anthropic, OpenAI, and xAI call for a slowdown in AI development through regulation, Gomez penned a blog post that likened the proposal to creating a “state-sanctioned cartel,” a term co-founder Nick Frosst co-signed in an X post. In the post, Gomez argued that the AI giants are requesting to bend competition rules and dictate terms for everyone else.

Feature image courtesy Photagonist for CVCA.