Kristen Smith 
- Carahsoft will serve as Cohere’s public sector distributor
- Cohere’s software can be deployed in air-gapped and on-premises settings, keeping data inside the customer’s environment
- It earned FedRAMP High authorization in May through Second Front Systems
Government agencies can now buy Cohere’s artificial intelligence models and its North agentic AI platform through Carahsoft. Carahsoft said Thursday it will act as Cohere’s public sector distributor.
Cohere’s software is built to run in air-gapped and on-premises settings, with no data leaving the customer’s environment. It secured Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program High authorization in May through Second Front Systems.
Which Contract Vehicles Carry Cohere’s Products?
Purchases will run through Carahsoft’s reseller network and five contract vehicles. Two are federal: NASA’s Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement V and Information Technology Enterprise Solutions – Software 2.
Three cooperative purchasing agreements round out the list. Those are the National Association of State Procurement Officials ValuePoint, The Interlocal Purchasing System and OMNIA Partners contracts.
What Does Cohere’s North Platform Do?
North is Cohere’s agentic AI product, built for sectors operating under heavy regulation. It pairs security controls with continuous compliance checks and leaves data governance with the customer.
Deployment is meant to work the same way regardless of where it sits, whether that is a hybrid cloud, an on-premises data center handling classified work or a tactical edge environment, Carahsoft said. The underlying models handle multiple languages and data types.
“As agencies continue to adopt AI technologies, they need secure solutions that meet rigorous compliance and operational requirements,” said Michael Adams, program executive for AI solutions at Carahsoft. “Cohere’s North platform and models address these needs through its secure deployment options and commitment to protecting sensitive data.”
How Does This Fit Carahsoft’s Recent AI Agreements?
Carahsoft has been adding AI vendors to its public sector catalog at a steady clip. Rhino.ai signed on in late June for legacy system modernization, and Zenity earlier that month for AI agent governance. Scale AI’s generative AI platform and test and evaluation services were added to Carahsoft’s GSA Schedule in May.
Cognition AI, US AI and Clio have struck their own distribution agreements with the company this year.
