Cohere’s new AI agent platform, North, promises to keep enterprise data secure

Cohere, a Canadian AI startup, is addressing a significant barrier to AI adoption among large organizations—data security. Many enterprises, especially those with sensitive information or operating in regulated industries, are cautious about integrating AI tools due to fears that their data, or their clients' data, might be compromised. In response to these concerns, Cohere has launched North, an AI agent platform designed for secure deployment that keeps data protected behind corporate firewalls. Nick Frosst, co-founder and CEO of Cohere, emphasized the importance of secure data access in maximizing the effectiveness of large language models (LLMs). During a demonstration, he stated, "LLMs are only as good as the data they have access to... they need to be deployed in [the customer’s] environment." Unlike traditional cloud solutions like Azure or AWS, North can be installed directly on an organization’s private infrastructure, ensuring that customer data remains untouched. According to Frosst, North is capable of running on various setups, including on-premise hardware, hybrid clouds, virtual private clouds (VPCs), or even isolated environments. He noted that the platform can operate on minimal hardware, requiring as few as two GPUs, making it accessible for businesses of different sizes. In addition to its deployment flexibility, North incorporates advanced security features such as granular access controls, autonomous agent policies, continuous red-teaming, and third-party security assessments. It also complies with international regulations, including GDPR, SOC-2, and ISO 27001. Cohere, which has raised $970 million to date and is valued at $5.5 billion, has already partnered with notable clients such as RBC, Dell, and LG to pilot the North platform. The platform offers functionalities akin to other AI agents, including chat and search capabilities that assist with customer support inquiries, summarize meetings, generate marketing content, and access both internal and external information. Frosst explained that North is powered by a version of Cohere's Command model, specially adapted for enterprise-level reasoning. This allows it to perform tasks beyond simple Q&A, including creating documents, tables, and presentations, and conducting market research. Furthermore, North seamlessly integrates with existing workplace applications such as Gmail, Slack, Salesforce, and Outlook, enhancing its usability in various business environments. As organizations gain confidence in utilizing North, Frosst envisions a transition from using the platform for augmentation to fully embracing it for automation, thereby transforming workflows and improving efficiency.