AI: French startup Mistral AI valued at €11.7 billion after raising €1.7 billion

Mistral AI announces a new fundraising round and a new partner. On Tuesday, September 9, the French artificial intelligence (AI) startup closed its third round of funding, raising €1.7 billion, valuing it at €11.7 billion, roughly double the €5.8 billion it raised last year in June 2024. Nearly €1.3 billion was contributed by ASML, the Dutch world leader in lithography machines for etching transistors for semiconductors. The company will own 11% of Mistral AI and have a seat on its strategic committee.

There are two ways of looking at this fundraising: the only European manufacturer of large language processing AI models is making a leap forward, but it also faces stiff international competition, given the amounts invested by American giants OpenAI and Anthropic, as well as Google and Meta.

On the positive side, Mistral AI is partnering with a European partner, while previous rounds were partially backed by US funds, which are once again participating in this round. "The collaboration between Mistral AI and ASML will generate clear benefits for ASML's customers through innovative products and AI-enabled solutions," writes Christophe Fouquet, CEO of the Dutch group with a turnover of €28 billion in 2024.

Another advantage is that the French startup is raising almost twice the amount it had previously raised (€1 billion since its creation in June 2023). It also has AI models that are technically credible compared to the competition, particularly in the niche of small models, which require less computing power and are therefore less expensive. In recent months, Mistral AI has managed to secure contracts from major clients, including Orange, BNP Paribas, Cisco, Stellantis, and CMA CGM, which signed a €100 million partnership.

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