Aidan Gomez on capital markets
From Gibt es für Europa und Kanada noch eine Chance auf Unabhängigkeit, Aidan Gomez? · · Handelsblatt
“Similar to our tech strategy, we've decided to take our national wealth, our pensions, etc., and hand it to capital managers in other countries who invest in indices and don't do any sort of active management, don't deploy things strategically. And that has led to what founders call the valley of death. Where you there's big companies in your economy. Maybe you can get some small companies that just need like a million, 5 million, that type of thing. But as you look in the mid-stage, growth stage crossover, capital is nowhere to be found. Your only option is to go fund raise in Silicon Valley.”
On , Aidan Gomez, CEO and Cofounder at Cohere, spoke about capital markets during Gibt es für Europa und Kanada noch eine Chance auf Unabhängigkeit, Aidan Gomez? on Handelsblatt.
About Aidan Gomez
Aidan Gomez, CEO and cofounder of Cohere, has been speaking publicly about the need for Canada and Europe to develop independent technological capabilities, particularly in artificial intelligence. In a June 2026 interview, Gomez discussed Cohere's acquisition of German AI startup Aleph Alpha, a deal that German Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger personally supported. Gomez argued that over the past 30 years, Canada and Europe have experienced a "hollowing out of technological capability," creating a single point of failure by relying on technology from one source. He stated that capitalism does not naturally produce strategic sovereign imperatives and that governments must intentionally introduce such priorities. Gomez also warned that if countries do not retain the ability to protect critical infrastructure such as power grids, water systems, and financial institutions from AI-powered cyberattacks, it poses an existential risk to national security. In other appearances, Gomez addressed the AI industry's pricing divide and the cost of scaling. He said that for governments and regulated industries, Chinese AI models are not an option, and organizations that need to trust their models will pay a premium for Western, democratically aligned technology. He noted a market shift toward smaller, more efficient models as CFOs look to optimize AI spending. Gomez also emphasized the importance of private deployment of AI infrastructure to reduce vulnerability to exploitation. He described Cohere's founding in Toronto as an intentional choice to support resilience and independence, and said the company maintains a "friends with everyone" approach by not locking customers into any single cloud ecosystem.