Thales and Cohere Reach New Milestone as Royal Canadian Navy Advances AI Adoption

• Thales and Cohere are partnering to deliver sovereign AI technologies for the Royal Canadian Navy, following a new task order awarded to Thales Canada - with support from cortAIx, Thales AI accelerator based in Montreal - under the Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessels and Joint Support Ships In-Service Support (AJISS) contract, with solutions designed to streamline in-service support (ISS) and improve ship readiness and availability.
  
  
• For the Royal Canadian Navy, this project will help reduce administrative burden and accelerate maintenance and logistics processes by introducing agentic AI with human oversight, enabling personnel to focus on higher-value operational tasks while AI systems automate selected support functions, coordinate workflows and assist with routine activities.
  
  
• Looking ahead, agentic AI could support predictive maintenance, streamlined knowledge management, and faster operational planning, helping defence organizations scale support capabilities and improve fleet availability.
  
  

Thales Canada and Cohere have reached a significant milestone in their partnership with the Royal Canadian Navy’s adoption of artificial intelligence for in-service support operations. Through a new task awarded to Thales under the Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessels and Joint Support Ships In-Service Support (AJISS) contract, the partners will deliver the first integration of agentic AI into the Navy’s maintenance and support activities.

Combining Thales Canada’s expertise in advanced defence and digital technologies with Cohere’s secure, enterprise-grade AI solutions, and powered by cortAIx, Thales AI accelerator in critical systems, this initiative is designed to accelerate service delivery, improve operational efficiency and enhance ship readiness and mission effectiveness.

The adoption of agentic AI will help expand the capacity of the AJISS program by automating specific support functions while maintaining human oversight. By streamlining routine processes, personnel will have increased capacity to focus on mission critical and complex tasks, while ensuring that the best vessel is mission-ready and available at the time it is needed.

“The Royal Canadian Navy’s commitment to advancing AI adoption will help ensure Canada remains agile and competitive in an increasingly complex operational environment,” said Ian Krepps, CEO, Thales Canada. “This milestone reflects both Canada’s drive for innovation and our dedication to delivering advanced solutions that enable the Canadian Armed Forces to focus on what matters most – the availability of their assets and the successful execution of their missions.”

“Canada has an opportunity to lead in the responsible use of secure, enterprise-grade AI across defence and other mission-critical environments,” said Ivan Zhang, Co-founder, Cohere. “Through our work with Thales, we’re showing how agentic AI can operate securely to support ship readiness, including in disconnected environments, while keeping Royal Canadian Navy personnel firmly in control. The result is less time spent on routine administrative work and more time focused on fleet readiness and mission effectiveness.”

About Thales

Thales (Euronext Paris: HO) is a global leader in advanced technologies for the Defence, Aerospace, and Cyber & Digital sectors. Its portfolio of innovative products and services helps address several major challenges: sovereignty, security, sustainability and inclusion.

The Group allocates €4.5 billion per year in Research & Development in key areas, particularly for critical environments, such as Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, Quantum and Cloud technologies.

Thales has more than 85,000 employees in 65 countries. In 2025, the Group generated sales of €22.1 billion.

Recent images of Thales and its Defense, Aerospace and Cyber & Digital activities can be found on the Thales Media Library. For any specific requests, please contact the Media Relations team.

About Thales in Canada

For more than 50 years, Thales Canada has delivered proven, trusted and secure solutions to customers across Canada. The company brings a strong national footprint and a deeply skilled workforce dedicated to anticipating and exceeding customer needs. As a national leader in advanced research and technology, Thales Canada plays a key role in strengthening national security, advancing deep‑tech innovation, and growing Canada’s defence and digital ecosystems.

About Cohere

Cohere, founded in 2019, is the world’s leading sovereign AI company building foundation models and end-to-end AI products to solve real-world business problems. We partner with organizations to deliver seamless integration, deep customization, and user-friendly solutions. Our all-in-one platform provides maximum security, privacy, and deployment flexibility across clouds, private on-premises environments, and even fully air-gapped settings. Headquartered globally in Toronto, San Francisco, and Germany, Cohere operates additional offices in London, New York, Montreal, Paris, and Seoul, serving customers worldwide. The company has raised ~$1.6BUSD from strategic tech investors (Nvidia, AMD Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, Oracle, Cisco), institutional investors (Radical Ventures, Inovia Capital, PSP Investments, HOOPP, BDC, Nexxus), and AI pioneers including Geoffrey Hinton, Fei-Fei Li, Pieter Abbeel, and Raquel Urtasun. For more information, visit cohere.com.