Aidan Gomez's journey in AI began remarkably early when he joined Google Brain as an intern at just 20 years old in 2017.1 During this pivotal internship, he co-authored the groundbreaking paper "Attention Is All You Need," which introduced the transformer architecture that revolutionized natural language processing and laid the foundation for today's generative AI boom.21 Gomez himself has expressed surprise at the rapid advancement of AI capabilities, noting that "The models are doing stuff that I personally thought maybe I'd see at the end of my career, maybe in like 40 years."1

Before founding Cohere in September 2019, Gomez's experience included additional research at Google Brain as a Student Researcher (February-September 2019), founding FOR.ai (June 2017-September 2020), and internships at Microsoft and Venture Media.23 His academic background includes an Honours Bachelor of Science from the University of Toronto (2013-2018) and ongoing PhD studies in Computer Science at the University of Oxford.2 This combination of cutting-edge research experience and academic credentials positioned Gomez perfectly to lead Cohere in developing enterprise-focused AI solutions that now compete with other leading AI companies in the rapidly evolving generative AI landscape.4

Cohere positions itself as a security-first enterprise AI company offering a comprehensive platform that combines cutting-edge multilingual models, advanced retrieval capabilities, and an AI workspace tailored specifically for modern businesses12. The company's product lineup includes three distinct model families: Command for text generation and document analysis, North for secure AI agents and advanced search, and Compass for intelligent data discovery1. Unlike some competitors, Cohere differentiates itself by allowing enterprises to host its language models on their own servers or in private clouds, addressing critical enterprise requirements for data security and control3.

The platform emphasizes enterprise-grade features that appeal to large organizations, including:

• Scalability for taking applications from proof-of-concept to full production1

• Fine-tuning capabilities that ground outputs in company data through retrieval-augmented generation (RAG)14

• Enterprise-grade security with advanced access controls and private deployment options15

• Multilingual coverage for global business applications4

• Tool use automation to streamline workflows4

This enterprise-focused approach has attracted significant investment, with Cohere raising over $1 billion from investors including Inovia Capital, Nvidia, Oracle, and Salesforce Ventures, valuing the company at $5.5 billion67.

Rivian and Volkswagen Group launched a $5.8 billion joint venture in November 2024 to develop next-generation electrical architecture and software technology for electric vehicles.12 The partnership, officially named "Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies," is co-led by Rivian Chief Software Officer Wassym Bensaid and Volkswagen Group CTO Carsten Helbing, with operations based in Palo Alto, California, and additional sites planned across North America and Europe.34

This strategic alliance leverages Rivian's expertise in software and electrical architecture while capitalizing on Volkswagen's global manufacturing scale.5 The joint venture focuses on developing AI-powered software systems that can anticipate, plan, and react in real-time, using large language models to perceive surroundings and predict behavior.6 Volkswagen's investment includes an initial $1 billion, with additional funding tied to specific development milestones through 2027, highlighting both companies' commitment to becoming leaders in software-defined vehicles.42