French artificial intelligence startup Mistral AI has raised €3 billion ($3.5 billion) in its largest-ever funding round. Led by Samsung Electronics, the fundraising effort values the company at over €21 billion, nearly doubling its previous valuation. The company described the move as the largest equity fundraising ever completed by a European technology firm.
The funding round included contributions from Samsung, ASML Holding, existing investors, and new backers. Mistral AI plans to use the capital to fund the development of artificial intelligence models and build computing infrastructure.
Mistral AI is positioning itself as a sovereign European alternative to competitors in the United States and China, including players like OpenAI and Anthropic. To remain competitive and keep pace with these rivals, the firm is betting on the use of open-weight AI models.
The announcement follows accusations from some experts that the startup had abandoned the race for cutting-edge models to focus on data centers and services. Mistral AI insists it has not given up on producing cutting-edge models.