I don't doubt the new Cohere model is better - but one of the features I value most from an embedding model is having an escape hatch, so I can continue to calculate vectors using that same model far into the future if something happens to the hosting provider.
This matters for embedding models because I'm presumably building up a database of many millions of vectors for later similarity comparisons - so I need to know I'll be able to embed an arbitrary string in the future in order for that investment to still make sense.
Size doesn't matter much to me, I don't even need to be able to run that model, it's more about having an insurance policy for my own peace of mind.
(Even a covenant that says "in the event that Cohere goes out of business this model will be made available under license X" would address this itch for me.)
This matters for embedding models because I'm presumably building up a database of many millions of vectors for later similarity comparisons - so I need to know I'll be able to embed an arbitrary string in the future in order for that investment to still make sense.
Size doesn't matter much to me, I don't even need to be able to run that model, it's more about having an insurance policy for my own peace of mind.
(Even a covenant that says "in the event that Cohere goes out of business this model will be made available under license X" would address this itch for me.)