Cohere Releases Enterprise LLM Command R+ Signs Up With Microsoft Azure to Host
Cohere has introduced the Command R+ large language model (LLM) for enterprise applications that appears capable of outperforming OpenAI’s GPT-4 Turbo model in some benchmark tests. Command R+ is the latest in Cohere’s R-series of models, augmented with more advanced infrastructure, improved Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) methods, and multilingual capabilities.
Command R+
Command R+ is designed to offer an optimal balance of efficiency and accuracy, enabling businesses to transition from AI experimentation to full-scale production. The model has a 128,000-token context window and is pitched at businesses looking to automate some of their processes. The upgraded RAG capabilities provide more accurate and reliable responses in different verticals while upping overall productivity. The R group of models all have a feature Cohere calls ‘Tool Use,’ meaning it can grasp when and what software it needs to complete a task. The new Command R+ goes beyond that to include ‘Multi-Step Tool Use’, allowing it to combine multiple tools across several stages of a task’s performance, even detecting mistakes along the way and correcting for them. That’s where Cohere’s model outperforms Mistral Large and GPT-4 Turbo while still being substantially cheaper, according to Cohere’s graphs.
“Our latest model builds on the key strengths of Command R and further improves performance across the board. Command R+ outperforms similar models in the scalable market category and is competitive with significantly more expensive models on key business-critical capabilities,” Cohere CEO Aidan Gomex explained in a blog post. “We achieve this while providing the same commitment to data privacy and security that we’re known for.”
Azure Cohere
Cohere announced the new model in tandem with a new partnership with Microsoft Azure that will bring Command R+ to Azure’s marketplace of LLMs at the same time as it becomes accessible through the company’s API. Microsoft subsidiary Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and other platforms will gain access to the LLM in the weeks ahead. Cohere’s origins in embedding natural language processing tools into customer service platforms and other business services fit with the Microsoft deal as Azure is widely employed by the kinds of businesses that might be interested in Command R+. That said, Cohere had an earlier deal with Google Cloud to gain access to Google’s supercomputers to train its LLMs. Cohere now seems to have even larger ambitions, fueled in part by the $270 million it raised last June, and Microsoft is keen to be a part of achieving those goals.
“The collaboration with Cohere underscores our dedication to leading the charge in the AI revolution, bringing the innovative Command R+ model to Azure AI,” Microsoft corporate vice president of Azure AI Platform John Montgomery explained. “This partnership exemplifies our commitment to providing a comprehensive suite of AI tools that empower businesses to achieve more while adhering to the highest standards of security and compliance. Together, we’re setting new benchmarks for what’s possible in enterprise AI, fostering a future where technology amplifies human capability and innovation.”
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