Aleph Alpha publishes new AI model “Kolibri” for administration and industry

The Heidelberg AI company Aleph Alpha says it has published a new language model called “Kolibri” for applications in public administration and industry. The company said the model is intended for use in infrastructure that customers themselves control.

With this step, Aleph Alpha is trying to expand its position in the competition for government-friendly and industry-oriented AI from Europe. The market is considered strategically important because many organizations pay attention to data protection, traceability and control over the infrastructure used.

“Expertise to develop competitive AI models”

According to CEO Ilhan Scheer, “Kolibri” shows “that we in Germany have the talent and expertise to develop competitive AI models.” AI sovereignty means preserving freedom of choice through the ability to develop and advance this technology themselves, and giving customers control over how they use it.

Co-founder Samuel Weinbach said, "We tailored "Kolibri" specifically to the requirements of German-language applications... so that it can argue in German." This is an important step for customers to make AI usable in everyday work processes. With headquarters in Heidelberg, Aleph Alpha employs around 200 experts at four locations in Germany.

AI solutions for public administration and industry

The Heidelberg company has been positioning itself for years as a European provider of “sovereign” AI solutions in administration and industry. At the end of April, Aleph Alpha and the Canadian AI company Cohere announced a “transatlantic merger”. De facto this is a takeover of Aleph Alpha by Cohere.

The joint venture is intended to develop sovereign AI offerings - particularly for the areas of administration, finance, defense, energy, telecommunications and healthcare. As part of the partnership, the joint venture works with the Schwarz Group to develop sovereign offerings on their cloud platform STACKIT. Federal Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger (CDU) commented on the merger at the time with the words: “A global AI champion will emerge.”