Mistral is in early-stage funding talks to raise approximately €3bn at a valuation of around €20bn, nearly doubling its September 2024 valuation of €11.7bn. The Paris-based AI startup, founded in 2023 by ex-Google DeepMind and Meta researchers, is burning through capital to build its own data centres in France and Sweden. Mistral positions itself as Europe's sovereign AI alternative, with enterprise deals signed with Airbus and BMW, and is developing a cybersecurity-focused model for European banks. Despite the ambition, Mistral's models still trail OpenAI and Anthropic, whose valuations dwarf Mistral's at $852bn and $965bn respectively. CEO Arthur Mensch is also exploring custom chip design to reduce dependence on Nvidia.
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Inside the Mistral funding talksEurope’s answer to Silicon ValleyThe gap it still has to close51 Impressions