Europe’s most valuable AI startup, Mistral secures €1.7bn funding

A French artificial intelligence startup, Mistral AI, has successfully raised 1.7 billion euros ($2 billion) in its latest funding round.

The funding was led by a Dutch chip equipment maker, ASML, which invested €1.3 billion and is now the top backer, it was confirmed by companies in a Reuters report from Sunday.

The Dutch semiconductor equipment manufacturer has become the leading investor in Mistral AI’s for investing 1.3 billion euros.

This investment particularly gives ASML a substantial stake of approximately 11%, making it the main shareholder in the French AI startup.

However, after the latest funding round, Mistral’s valuation reached 11.7 billion euro and became the most valuable AI company in Europe.

The deal establishes the Dutch chip equipment maker as the main supporter of Mistral AI, which is often considered one of Europe’s leading contenders against AI giants such as OpenAI, Meta and Alphabet’s Google.

Mistral said that other investors who joined the fundraising are Andreessen Horowitz, General Catalyst, Index Venture, Lightspeed and NVIDIA.

ASML will collaborate with Mistral to integrate AI models into its semiconductor equipment. This will likely improve performance and capabilities of its products.

In addition, ASML’s finance chief, Roger Dassen will also gain a seat on the French startup’s strategic committee.