Here’s what happened in tech yesterday.

1. Ottawa takes a stake in Cohere

The federal government will invest up to $1.6 billion in Toronto’s Cohere through the Canada Development Investment Corporation, as part of a Series E of up to $7 billion that would be the largest funding round in Canadian startup history, BetaKit reports. The Logic puts Cohere’s valuation at $35.7 billion. Germany’s Schwarz Group is leading the round. In return, Cohere must stay headquartered in Canada, create more than 1,000 tech jobs here and spend $1.7 billion on Canadian computing infrastructure by 2030. “Now, Canada has a stake in it,” Prime Minister Mark Carney said.

Why it matters: It’s a direct federal stake in one company, and AI Minister Evan Solomon says it won’t be the last.

2. Rogers ordered to pay $15 million over “unlimited” ads

The Competition Tribunal ruled that Rogers misled customers by advertising its Infinite plans as unlimited data when speeds drop sharply after a set amount, the Competition Bureau says. Rogers must also publish a corrective notice and pay the Bureau’s legal costs. It says it stands behind its advertising and is considering its next steps, MobileSyrup reports.

Why it matters: The tribunal didn’t order refunds. But Bell, Telus and Freedom also sell “unlimited” plans that slow down, so expect the word to be used more carefully.

3. DoorDash agrees to buy Instacart for about $17 billion USD

DoorDash will pay $65 USD a share, about $17 billion USD (about $24 billion CAD), it announced. The deal needs clearance under Canada’s Competition Act, among other approvals, and isn’t expected to close until the end of 2027 or the first half of 2028.

Why it matters: Both companies deliver groceries across Canada, so the Competition Bureau’s review will decide how much choice Canadians keep.

4. Telesat warns about its debt

Telesat reported a third-quarter loss of $157 million on revenue down 20%, and said more than $2 billion of debt comes due between December and October 2027, BetaKit reports. Its filing says there’s “no assurance” its plans to deal with it will succeed.

Why it matters: Telesat is building Lightspeed, a 225-satellite network (as we noted Monday), so its finances matter for Canada’s space ambitions.

5. Post-secondary students get a year of Gemini free

Google is offering Canadian university students 18 and older a free year of its Google AI Plus plan if they sign up by Dec. 31, according to Google’s student page. Students verify their status through SheerID, MobileSyrup reports.

Why it matters: It renews automatically after the year, so set a reminder to cancel if you don’t want to pay.

One more thing: A fully loaded Mac Studio, with 512GB of memory and 16TB of storage, costs $44,898.98 in Canada, MobileSyrup worked out. The memory upgrade alone is $23,250.