Mistral Aims for 20 Billion Euros: Europe Confronts AI Giants

Mistral, a Paris-based scaleup specializing in the development of artificial intelligence models and infrastructure, is in discussions to raise €3 billion. This operation could bring its valuation to approximately €20 billion, according to information reported by Bloomberg. Founded in 2023, Mistral aims to provide a European alternative to American giants like OpenAI and Anthropic, as well as to rapidly expanding Chinese players.

If this fundraising is successful, the total capital raised by Mistral would reach €6.5 billion, including debt and equity. The company had previously raised €1.7 billion in a Series C funding round, achieving a valuation of €11.7 billion at that time. This round was led by ASML, a Dutch semiconductor equipment manufacturer, with an investment of €1.3 billion.

Current discussions are still in the early stages, and the funding amounts as well as the valuation could evolve. Mistral has declined to comment on this information.

Since its inception, Mistral has benefited from strong political support and has established strategic partnerships in Europe. The company has also launched Mistral Compute, an initiative aimed at building its own AI infrastructure to meet the growing demand for computing power. Earlier this year, it raised $830 million in debt financing to develop its data centers, with the goal of building up to 1 gigawatt of capacity in Europe by 2030.

However, Mistral remains a more modest player compared to its American competitors. Anthropic recently raised $65 billion in a Series H funding round, achieving a post-money valuation of $965 billion, while OpenAI raised $122 billion at a valuation of $852 billion.