Thales Canada Partners With Cohere on Agentic AI for Defence

Naval and maritime in-service support increasingly relies on technologies capable of processing real-time environmental data, managing large operational workloads, and improving decision-making under changing conditions. In this context, Thales Canada has entered a new partnership with Cohere to integrate advanced agentic AI* solutions into naval maintenance and operational support.

A Collaboration Focused on Operational AI for Defence
The agreement, announced during ongoing defence-sector initiatives, aims to develop and securely deploy agentic AI tools that can interpret complex, dynamic maritime environments. These systems are designed to support operators by synthesizing large volumes of technical and situational data, a capability that is widely recognized as a validated use case for AI in defence operations.

Thales will draw on its established expertise in naval and maritime in-service support and on the capabilities of cortAIx, its AI incubator. Paired with Cohere’s large language model technologies, the collaboration intends to accelerate the introduction of operational AI features planned for Canadian Armed Forces programs this year. Both companies emphasize that the tools will be deployed in compliance with defence-grade security and sovereignty requirements.

Supporting Canada’s Digital Transformation in Naval Support
The partnership extends to joint research and development with the goal of contributing to Canada’s broader digital transformation in defence. This includes the development of sovereign AI solutions aligned with Canada’s Industrial and Technological Benefits Policy. The companies highlight that these capabilities are intended to increase operational readiness by improving how data is processed and analyzed during in-service support activities.

Thales’ AI Infrastructure
Thales’ AI accelerator, cortAIx—established in 2024—brings together more than 800 AI specialists across hubs in France, the United Kingdom, Canada and Singapore. The accelerator consolidates the company’s research and engineering efforts in AI for critical environments. Over more than a decade, Thales has integrated AI into over a hundred products by leveraging sustained investment and a strong patent portfolio in AI for critical systems, ensuring that human oversight remains central to system design.

*Agentic AI refers to AI systems that can operate autonomously, reason, and take context-aware actions to achieve specific goals. Unlike “traditional” AI, which is limited to predefined tasks, agentic AI can analyze complex environments, adapt to new information in real time, and support decision-making by proactively recommending or executing courses of action.

www.thalesgroup.com