University of Toronto partners with Cohere on enterprise-wide AI platform
The University of Toronto has entered a multi-year AI partnership with Cohere. Photo: Diana Tyszko
The University of Toronto has entered a multi-year partnership with Toronto-based AI company Cohere to incorporate its North agentic AI platform into a forthcoming enterprise-wide system.
North will support the coordination of complex tasks across different university systems, providing what U of T describes as an orchestration layer. The wider AI strategy covers teaching and learning, research, student services, administration and operations.
Announcing the partnership on LinkedIn, U of T President Melanie Woodin positioned responsible AI adoption as one of her institutional priorities: "The partnership will advance responsible AI adoption at scale, a pillar of my presidential commitments, by leveraging U of T's strengths in research and education, and Cohere's sovereign AI technology to show how secure, human-centred AI can be deployed across the university."
"This partnership marks both a homecoming and the beginning of a new stage of evolution," says Donna Kidwell, U of T's Chief Information Officer. "It's designed to bring strategists, builders and our community together to demonstrate how secure, sovereign, human-centred AI can be deployed across the university."
North will connect university systems
Cohere was founded in 2019 by former University of Toronto students Aidan Gomez, Nick Frosst and Ivan Zhang. The company develops enterprise AI models and systems that can be privately deployed by businesses and governments.
North is designed to connect information held across different systems and coordinate complex workflows. Cohere says the platform will operate while keeping sensitive information under the university's control.
"North, Cohere's flagship agentic AI platform, will connect trusted information across university systems, coordinate complex workflows and help faculty, librarians, staff and students work faster, access services more easily and make better-informed decisions, while keeping sensitive data secure and under U of T's control," explains Joelle Pineau, Chief AI Officer at Cohere.
AI Kitchen remains in pre-launch phase
The partnership will operate alongside U of T's AI Kitchen, a planned environment for testing AI projects with defined data access, vetted applications and technical frameworks covering procurement and data handling.
The AI Kitchen was one of the central recommendations made by a university task force established in spring 2024. Kidwell co-sponsors the initiative with Professor Susan McCahan, U of T's Associate Vice-President and Vice-Provost, Digital Strategies.
"We recognize AI's transformative capabilities and associated risks and are taking a thoughtful approach to this class of technologies," says McCahan. "The partnership with Cohere is the next step in exploring what the U of T community can do with AI, with safety, privacy and security at the forefront of any new initiatives."
U of T is consulting members of its community about the tools, products and services the AI Kitchen should include. The initiative remains in its pre-launch phase, with no opening date announced.
