ASML's €1.3 Billion Investment in Mistral AI: A Boost for European Tech Sovereignty

ASML makes $1.5billion investment in Mistral AI -- ASML becomes the largest shareholder for the French AI start-up

ASML this week invested €1.3 billion ($1.5 billion) in Mistral AI, a French AI start-up, in its latest €1.7 billion funding round, reports Reuters. As a result, ASML became the largest shareholder of Mistal AI, which is primarily known for its sovereign AI initiatives and its close work with Nvidia. The deal is expected to grant ASML a seat on Mistral's board, which provides strategic influence in one of Europe's fastest-growing AI start-ups, which could be heading toward a $14 billion valuation. Neither ASML nor Mistral AI have commented on the transaction, so there is no official information on the the world's leading maker of lithography tools decided to invest in an AI company. Like other high-tech giants, ASML uses AI for a wide variety of processes, including computational lithography, machine learning in wafer metrology, tool calibration, optical proximity correction, yield learning, and many others. By working with Mistal AI closer, ASML may plan to develop models that are tailored for its tasks and then use them to speed up design cycles, boost tool performance, predict regular maintenance, or just ensure better yields for customers. Although ASML is know for its lithography, metrology, and inspection equipment that is more competitive than rivals, software that the company develops for its tools are as important as hardware. As a result, working closer with Mistral AI could further enhance the software element of ASML's products. Mistral AI was founded in 2023 by Arthur Mensch, Timothée Lacroix, and Guillaume Lample -- veterans of DeepMind and Meta -- and quickly became known as Europe-based rival for Google, Meta, and OpenAI. However, Mistral AI is significantly different from large American companies. Rather than trying to match the largest models parameter-for-parameter, Mistral specializes in models that are smaller in size but optimized for real-world tasks like analytics, coding, or reasoning, which enables these models to be deployed quickly by customers. These models have consistently delivered good results (according to observers), which placed them on par with or above larger alternatives. The company is also known for its fast iteration cycle as it releases new models with better performance or usability fairly regularly, which demonstrates how rapid the Mistal AI is being developed. Finally, most of Mistal AI's models are released under permissive licenses that allow developers, start-ups, and researchers to build on top of them without restrictive terms, greatly enhancing their usability by various companies. For now, Mistral AI cannot rival Meta, OpenAI, or xAI in terms of hardware capabilities, but the company plans to deploy a cluster featuring 18,000 Blackwell processors at a new facility near Paris, France, according to Nvidia. Given Mistal AI's business focus and business model, it may well develop quite competitive products on such a supercomputer. Putting such power at ASML's service will certainly be a positive thing for the company and its products.

ASML Pumps €1.3 Billion Into Mistral in Boost for European AI

ASML Holding NV is investing €1.3 billion ($1.5 billion) in France's Mistral AI as part of a strategic partnership, an unusual move for the Dutch chipmaking equipment company that shores up Europe's most important artificial intelligence startup. With the investment, ASML becomes the largest shareholder in Mistral with 11% ownership, the companies said in a statement on Tuesday. Mistral, which develops AI models and a chatbot, said the investment is part of a €1.7 billion funding round giving it a valuation of about €11.7 billion, making it one of Europe's most valuable private companies.

ASML-Mistral AI deal boosts Europe tech hopes as Trump rivalry heats up

STOCKHOLM/BRUSSELS, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Dutch chip-gear maker ASML's (ASML.AS), opens new tab $1.5 billion investment in French artificial intelligence firm Mistral has given a shot in the arm to Europe's AI ambitions and hopes for more regional tech sovereignty against the dominance of U.S. and Asian rivals. The deal, first reported by Reuters and confirmed on Tuesday, will see ASML become the top shareholder of Mistral, often presented as Europe's AI champion in a sector in which U.S. giants such as OpenAI and Alphabet's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab Google hold sway. The move, which gives ASML an 11% stake in the firm that has received big U.S. funding, drew cheers from around Europe, where the global trade conflict with U.S. President Donald Trump has shone a harsh spotlight on weaknesses in European tech and AI. "ASML's stake in Mistral AI is a game-changer for Europe," EU lawmaker Stephanie Yon-Courtin, who is involved in regional tech issues, told Reuters, adding it paired the region's best semiconductor expertise with cutting-edge AI. "It strengthens our digital sovereignty, boosts innovation, and sends a clear signal to global Big Tech: Europe is ready to lead, not follow." Europe's tech lag has spooked political and industry leaders. It has no real rivals to U.S. behemoths such as Meta (META.O), opens new tab, Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab, Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab or OpenAI, whose valuations reach into the trillions of dollars. Mistral, backed by U.S. funds such as DST Global, Andreessen Horowitz and General Catalyst, is valued at just under $12 billion in its latest fundraising. European leaders from French President Emmanuel Macron to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz have been calling for digital sovereignty of Europe, as they are increasingly wary of the continent's dependency on U.S. tech companies, and after drawing ire from the U.S. President Donald Trump over issues from trade to defence. In a bid to fight back, in September last year, former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi issued a nearly 400-page report on what the European Union needs to do to keep pace economically with rivals. 'MINDSET SHIFT' Analysts said the practical benefits of the ASML-Mistral tie-up remained to be seen despite the firms touting plans to solve "future engineering challenges through AI". Most focused on the strong political message it sent. "This move reflects the mindset shift taking place across Europe," said Sten Tamkivi, partner at venture capital firm Plural, which has backed companies like Germany's Helsing, an AI start-up active in the defence sector. "This deal shows that there's an opportunity for us to make more of our hard assets to strengthen our sovereignty." The European Commission is trying to encourage innovative start-up firms to stay in Europe rather than moving to the U.S. with rules that would allow them to more easily operate across the 27-nation European Union bloc. "Europe needs to have its own digital capacities and invest in its technological sovereignty," European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier told Reuters. However, there remain roadblocks, with big European businesses slower to get on board with local tech start-ups as investors or clients and tougher regional regulation. Stephanie Yon-Courtin told Reuters she was particularly pleased, with the ASML-Mistral deal, to be seeing "a European investor supporting a European AI champion". "Europe is making progress," Mistral CEO Arthur Mensch said in a separate statement on Tuesday from EU-Inc, an initiative backed by more than 16,000 founders and investors looking to boost the region's tech prowess. "But that ambition will only count if the European Commission and national governments match it." Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm and Foo Yun Chee in Brussels; Editing by Adam Jourdan and Jan Harvey Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab * Suggested Topics: * Artificial Intelligence Supantha Mukherjee Thomson Reuters Supantha leads the European Technology and Telecoms coverage, with a special focus on emerging technologies such as AI and 5G. He has been a journalist for about 18 years. He joined Reuters in 2006 and has covered a variety of beats ranging from financial sector to technology. He is based in Stockholm, Sweden. Foo Yun Chee Thomson Reuters An agenda-setting and market-moving journalist, Foo Yun Chee is a 21-year veteran at Reuters. Her stories on high profile mergers have pushed up the European telecoms index, lifted companies' shares and helped investors decide on their next move. Her knowledge and experience of European antitrust laws and developments helped her break stories on Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Meta and Apple, numerous market-moving mergers and antitrust investigations. She has previously reported on Greek politics and companies, when Greece's entry into the eurozone meant it punched above its weight on the international stage, as well as on Dutch corporate giants and the quirks of Dutch society and culture that never fail to charm readers.

ASML and Mistral agree €1.3bn blockbuster European AI deal

Dutch chip equipment giant ASML has agreed to invest €1.3bn in French artificial intelligence start-up Mistral, forging an alliance between two of Europe's leading technology companies at a time of heightened concern over reliance on US Big Tech groups. Mistral is raising a total of €1.7bn in its latest round of funding, the company said on Tuesday, valuing the two-year-old start-up at nearly €12bn, including the new funds raised. Christophe Fouquet, ASML chief executive, said the decision to invest such a large sum in Mistral, becoming its biggest shareholder, reflected a view that AI will be a "strategic technology" and a desire to demonstrate "long-term trust". The deal brings together Europe's top AI start-up and one of the continent's most valuable public companies, which supplies the equipment to make the advanced chips that are used to train and run AI models. Arthur Mensch, Mistral's chief executive, said that for both economic and strategic reasons, "it's important for European companies not to have too much dependency on US technology". But the CEOs of both companies played down the idea that the tie-up was motivated by a desire to strengthen European tech sovereignty at a time when the region is increasingly caught up in tensions between the US and China. ASML has been hit by both US tariffs on imports and Washington-led restrictions on the kinds of chipmaking equipment it can sell in China. Nonetheless, Fouquet insisted that it did not just "pick Mistral because they were European". Sovereignty was an "additional benefit", he said. "I think this will help the European ecosystem, but we do it because it's good for Mistral and it's good for ASML." Mensch said the tie-up would help develop its systems' capabilities beyond the same generic functions offered by rivals. "There's a lot of expertise that we will never be able to put into [our AI] models if we don't find the right partners," he said. Paris-based Mistral, which now has more than 350 staff, is also raising new capital from existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, Bpifrance, General Catalyst, Index Ventures, Lightspeed and Nvidia. At €11.7bn, Mistral's price tag has roughly doubled since its last funding round in June 2024. But the maker of the Le Chat chatbot lags far behind its US-based competitors. ChatGPT maker OpenAI is discussing a new share sale that would value it at $500bn, and Anthropic announced a deal putting its worth at $183bn last week. Mistral also faces growing competition from Chinese players such as DeepSeek and Alibaba for "open source" AI systems, which make advanced AI capabilities freely available for anyone to use. Mensch said the company was "taking a different direction" to its US rivals. "Our US competitors are more focusing towards the mass-market consumer side . . . For us, most of the value we can help create is in partnering with truly technological companies," he said. Mistral's customers already include automotive group Stellantis, which owns brands like Fiat and Chrysler. It is using its AI tools to help manage its supply chain as well as to develop an in-car assistant. Mistral also works with the French shipping group CMA CGM, as well as several French government departments. ASML makes some of the most sophisticated and expensive machines in the world. Its chipmaking equipment can cost hundreds of millions of euros and contain as many as 100,000 parts. In the short term, Fouquet said ASML would begin using Mistral's AI expertise to help develop new chipmaking tools, as well as offering customers new capabilities as they use its existing systems. "We started to look for a partner, because we thought that this is not something we should try to do ourselves," Fouquet said. He said the company's expertise is in chipmaking equipment and they are "not AI experts". The companies also hinted at broader ambitions in the future. "There are many opportunities down the line with ASML to partner on bridging the gap between the [semiconductor] value chain and the AI value chain," Mensch said. Mistral has struck several lucrative contracts with large customers in recent months by adopting a sales tactic similar to US data analytics provider Palantir, sending "solutions architects" to consult with each customer on bespoke AI systems. Mensch said it has now secured contracts with an annual value of more than €300mn, with the total value of contracts signed since it launched in June 2023 reaching €1.4bn. Just over half of its business comes from Europe.

ASML invests $1.5B in French AI startup Mistral, forming European tech alliance

LONDON (AP) -- ASML, a leading Dutch maker of chipmaking gear, is investing 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) into French artificial intelligence startup Mistral AI, the two said on Tuesday, announcing a partnership between two of Europe's top technology companies. ASML Holding, based in Veldhoven, Netherlands, holds an important role in the global tech industry because it makes equipment used to manufacture semiconductors, including the most advanced microchips used for cutting-edge AI systems. Mistral was founded two years ago in Paris by former researchers at Google DeepMind and Meta Platforms and quickly became a European tech darling. The partnership underscores Europe's efforts to reduce exposure to American technology. President Donald Trump's increasingly hostile attitude to European Union tech regulations has fueled debate about whether the continent is too dependent on services provided by U.S. tech companies such as cloud computing and mobile operating systems. Mistral makes the Le Chat chatbot but it has struggled to keep up with American AI companies like ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, and Chinese rivals like DeepSeek. ASML's chipmaking equipment can cost hundreds of millions of dollars but the U.S. government has blocked it from selling its most advanced machines to China. The deal gives ASML an 11% stake in Mistral, and values the startup at about 11.7 billion euros. The 1.3 billion euro investment is part of a larger funding round worth 1.7 billion euros, which also involves venture capital firms and chipmaker Nvidia. Mistral CEO Arthur Mensch said in a press release that the alliance combines Mistral's "frontier AI expertise with ASML's unmatched industrial leadership and most sophisticated engineering capabilities." "Together, we will accelerate technological progress across the global semiconductor and AI value chain," Mensch said.

ASML becomes biggest Mistral investor in boost to Europe's AI ambitions

AMSTERDAM, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Dutch chip equipment maker ASML has invested 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) to become the biggest investor in French artificial intelligence startup Mistral AI in a significant boost to Europe's AI ambitions. Mistral AI raised a total of 1.7 billion euros ($2 billion) in its latest funding round, it said on Tuesday. ASML's investment made it Mistral's main shareholder with a stake of about 11%. The statement confirmed a Reuters report from Sunday. The deal is a boost for Europe's AI ambitions, pairing the continent's most credible rival to U.S. giants OpenAI, Meta (META.O), opens new tab and Alphabet's Google (GOOGL.O), opens new tab with one of its largest tech companies. The latest funding round gives Mistral an 11.7 billion-euro valuation, Mistral said in a statement, becoming the most valuable AI company in Europe. ASML will also partner with Mistral to integrate AI models across its semiconductor equipment portfolio and gain a board seat on the French startup's strategic committee through finance chief Roger Dassen. Mistral, founded in 2023 by former researchers from Google DeepMind and Meta, has positioned itself as Europe's AI alternative to the U.S. and is a centerpiece of France's strategy to become a leading AI competitor. However, it is still worth only a fraction of its U.S. peers. OpenAI is eyeing a valuation of around $500 billion in a potential stock sale, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters in August, more than 40 times Mistral's valuation. The Dutch company has recently strengthened its French connections by appointing former French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire as a special adviser to its executive board. It is also led by French CEO Christophe Fouquet, who took the helm in 2024. "It helps that ASML is well connected to the industrial and political establishment to pick and choose its partners," said ING analyst Jan Frederik Slijkerman. "There is an industrial rational to develop products together," he added. "For ASML it is probably easier to develop AI based products through a partnership then to do this in house." Besides ASML, other investors who joined the fundraising are DST Global, Andreessen Horowitz, Bpifrance, General Catalyst, Index Ventures, Lightspeed and Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab, Mistral said. ASML's shares were up 1% in early Amsterdam trading, giving it a market value of 268 billion euros. ($1 = 0.8495 euros) Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro; Editing by Tom Hogue, Jacqueline Wong and Matt Scuffham Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab * Suggested Topics: * Artificial Intelligence Gianluca Lo Nostro Thomson Reuters Gianluca is a markets reporter based in Gdansk, where he covers equities and companies in France and the Benelux countries, with a keen focus on media, telecoms and fintech. Previously, he worked as a journalist in Italy, covering various beats ranging from international business and finance.

ASML invests $1.5 billion in OpenAI's European rival Mistral AI, to accelerate the design of future chips

Mistral AI gains funding and a European partner as valuation rises to €11.7 billion ASML Holding NV has signed a strategic partnership with French startup Mistral AI, looking to combine its chipmaking expertise with Mistral's artificial intelligence models. The move is one of the largest collaborations between the semiconductor sector and a European AI firm. ASML, based in Veldhoven in the Netherlands, is the world's only supplier of extreme ultraviolet lithography machines, critical for producing the most advanced chips. Its equipment is used by leading semiconductor companies to manufacture processors for smartphones, data centers, and AI accelerators. Although ASML occasionally invests in suppliers, it rarely takes direct stakes in startups. Mistral AI, founded in 2023 and headquartered in Paris, develops LLMs and open-source AI tools. It is viewed as the European alternative to US AI darlings such as OpenAI and Anthropic, and counts Microsoft among its existing investors. As part of the deal, ASML will invest €1.3 billion ($1.5 billion) in Mistral's Series C funding round, leading the raise and securing an 11 percent stake on a fully diluted basis. The round will bring Mistral's valuation to €11.7 billion ($12.6 billion). The partnership aims to apply AI models across ASML's research, development, and operations. The collaboration could improve the performance of ASML's lithography systems and help chipmakers bring products to market faster. "The collaboration between Mistral AI and ASML aims to generate clear benefits for ASML customers through innovative products and solutions enabled by AI, and will offer potential for joint research to address future opportunities," said ASML President and Chief Executive Officer Christophe Fouquet. "We believe that this strategic partnership with Mistral AI, which goes beyond a traditional vendor-client relationship, is the best way to capture this significant opportunity. We also believe that this collaboration is value enhancing to Mistral AI." Arthur Mensch, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Mistral AI, agreed, saying: "We are proud to engage in this long-term partnership with ASML, combining our frontier AI expertise with ASML's unmatched industrial leadership and most sophisticated engineering capabilities. We believe this partnership will strengthen Mistral AI's proposition, position, and value in the AI market. Together, we will accelerate technological progress across the global semi-conductor and AI value chain."

Mistral AI raises 1.7 billion euros as ASML becomes its top shareholder

AMSTERDAM, Sept 9 (Reuters) - French artificial intelligence startup Mistral AI has raised 1.7 billion euros ($2 billion) in its latest funding round led by Dutch chip equipment maker ASML (ASML.AS), opens new tab, the companies said on Tuesday, confirming a Reuters report from Sunday. ASML is investing 1.3 billion euros in Mistral AI as part of a series C funding round, making it Mistral's main shareholder as it will hold a stake of about 11%. The latest funding round gives Mistral an 11.7 billion-euro post-money valuation, Mistral said in a statement, becoming the most valuable AI company in Europe. The deal positions the Dutch chip equipment maker as the top backer of Mistral AI, widely considered one of Europe's best shots at competing with U.S. AI giants such as OpenAI, Meta (META.O), opens new tab and Alphabet's Google (GOOGL.O), opens new tab. Besides ASML, other investors who joined the fundraising are DST Global, Andreessen Horowitz, Bpifrance, General Catalyst, Index Ventures, Lightspeed and NVIDIA, Mistral said. ASML will also partner with Mistral to integrate AI models across its semiconductor equipment portfolio and gain a seat on the French startup's strategic committee through finance chief Roger Dassen. ($1 = 0.8495 euros) Reporting by Nathan Vifflin and Gianluca Lo Nostro; Editing by Tom Hogue and Jacqueline Wong Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Mistral cements AI lead in Europe with cash infusion

France's Mistral on Tuesday cemented its position as Europe's top AI hope against far larger US and Chinese competitors after a record fundraising round and a tie-up with chipmaking equipment heavyweight ASML. The 1.7 billion euro ($2 billion) cash infusion values Mistral at 11.7 billion euros, double its heft last year but a fraction of the $183 billion price tag placed on US firm Anthropic this month. ASML, a key producer of the machines that churn out the chips powering artificial intelligence models, was the lead investor, with a 1.3-billion-euro infusion that gives the Dutch company an 11% stake in Mistral. Mistral has been touted as a European AI champion as technological sovereignty concerns fester between the European Union and the United States under the second administration of President Donald Trump. The deal "aims to generate clear benefits for ASML customers through innovative products and solutions enabled by AI," the Dutch firm's boss Christophe Fouquet said in a statement, pointing to "potential for joint research" in future. Mistral chief executive Arthur Mensch said its AI could help ASML "solve current and future engineering challenges", leading to benefits for both semiconductor hardware and the AI software that runs on it. ASML said it would gain a seat on Mistral's strategic committee, giving the Dutch firm "an advisory role in Mistral AI's future strategy and technology decisions". ASML's Chief Financial Officer Roger Dassen will assume this role. 'Real alternative' Mistral's fundraising comes after months of rumors that it could be the target of a takeover bid by Apple, which has lagged other tech giants in developing its own AI. But the latest funding round "reaffirms the company's independence", Mistral said in its statement. Tying Mistral more closely into the wider European high-tech sector through ASML was necessary to compete, the founder of AI and data firm Ekimetrics Jean-Baptiste Bouzige told AFP. "There's no way to be in the fight in this sector while remaining strictly French," he said, adding that "Europe is the appropriate scale" for a company like Mistral. Other players in the latest investment rounded included chip giant Nvidia, venture capital funds Index Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz and French public investment bank Bpifrance. Mensch co-founded Mistral in 2023 after working for Google's DeepMind AI division, while fellow founders Guillaume Lample and Timothee Lacroix previously worked at Meta's AI lab. The chief executive told the Wall Street Journal in June that Mistral was on course to generate $100 million in annual revenue. Bet on 'open source' Mistral's key products include Le Chat, a large language model (LLM) chatbot competing with the likes of ChatGPT from the sector's American heavyweight OpenAI. But OpenAI, headed by Sam Altman, operates on a different scale: It is reportedly in talks to allow employees to sell shares at a $500 billion valuation. As well as text, Mistral offers generative AI models capable of turning out images and computer code. The company has opened offices in Paris, London, Luxembourg, New York, California's Palo Alto and Singapore and expanded to over 350 staff. One factor setting it apart has been its practice from the beginning of releasing "open source" versions of its AI models, allowing other developers to run and modify them for their own purposes. This year Mistral has announced a slew of partnerships, including with American chip giant Nvidia to create a cloud computing platform, or with Saudi investment fund MGX to build an AI campus outside Paris. Mistral has also signed a deal with Agence France-Presse (AFP) for Le Chat to draw on the news agency's decades of archives in six languages to generate responses to users' queries about news and current events.

The unlikely success story of tech-giant ASML, the biggest backer of France's Mistral AI

France's Mistral AI has become Europe's most valuable artificial intelligence start-up, partly thanks to investment by Dutch firm ASML. Though not a household name, ASML is a key player in global technology. It may also have a role to play in fostering "European digital sovereignty" limiting European dependence on US tech giants. Founded just two years ago, Mistral AI, France's leading artificial intelligence company, reached a valuation of a whopping 11.7 billion euros after raising 1.7 billion euros from investors on Monday, September 8. Though still relatively modest in size compared with US rivals ChatGPT and Perplexity, Mistral AI has become the most valuable French tech start-up and the most valuable AI company in Europe. While the success of the company's chatbot, Le Chat, has attracted much media hype in France, Mistral AI's rise owes a lot to a non-French company, the Dutch firm ASML - a world leader in manufacturing the machines used to make computer chips. An unlikely success story ASML's 1.3 billion euro investment in Mistral AI means it is now the French company's second-largest shareholder, after its founders. Headed by Frenchman Christophe Fouquet - another reason for French pride - ASML is a tech giant little known to the general public. Headquartered in the Dutch town of Veldhoven near Eindhoven, ASML has become a key player in the tech industry over the past 20 years - as big a part of the technology sector as Nvidia, Apple, Samsung or Microsoft. Founded in 1984 as a small side research project of Dutch electronics giant Philips, ASML initially struggled to find customers and narrowly escaped bankruptcy. The company set out to revolutionize the way microprocessors are designed by developing high-precision tools for etching integrated circuits onto computer chips. By the end of the 1980s, its parent company Philips was not in the best of financial shape. But thanks to a providential personal investment of $16 million by Henk Bodt, one of Philips's directors, ASML was able to survive while developing the technology that would make its fortune. The cash infusion enabled ASML to develop the groundbreaking PAS 5500 lithography platform in the early 1990s, a technology still used today to operate an ultra-sophisticated printing process for semiconductor electronic circuits. A machine the size of a bus to make tiny things ASML's pivotal role in the manufacture of computer chips stems from its pre-eminence in making extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) machines, which enable the production of more powerful and ever-smaller microchips. Ironically, this art of miniaturisation is only possible thanks to machines the size of a bus. These gigantic EUV machines have been at the heart of the company's success since it sold its first one in 2010 and have enabled ASML to carve out a crucial place in the high-tech revolution. Its cutting-edge technology had no competitors, and giants like Samsung, Intel, and Taiwan's TSMC (the world's leading semiconductor manufacturer) have grown dependent on EUV. Chips created using these miniaturisation processes underpinned innovation in smartphones and they are also found in the electronics of aircraft and cars. ASML can "print" computer chip circuits in its laboratories on demand - or sell its machines at a cost of $300 million per unit. Since 2010, it has sold just over 140 machines. To be safely shipped, an ASML machine has to be dismantled and then transported by a fleet of twenty trucks and three planes the size of Boeing 747s, according to CNBC, one of the few media outlets that have been allowed to visit ASML's laboratories. Today, ASML is worth more than $250 billion on the stock market, more than French luxury giant LVMH. It could afford to invest 1.3 billion euros in Mistral AI without batting an eyelid. Can Mistral AI and ASML rescue European digital sovereignty? ASML's investment budget is mostly spent on developing its technology in-house, but the company says Mistral's AI could help it develop innovations more quickly. "ASML has enormous resources, but few practical investment options", says Stuart Mills, an economics and artificial intelligence specialist at the University of Leeds in the UK. "AI can be useful to them." For experts in AI and the European economy, the ASML stake in Mistral AI "shows that there is an alternative investment channel to the 'magnificent seven'," says Alexandre Baradez, financial analyst for IG France, referring to the US tech giants Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Meta, Nvidia, and Tesla. "They are on a frenzy of investment and acquisitions in AI, which makes them a kind of enormous black hole that attracts and swallows everything," Baradez notes. "It's a relatively new development that large European tech companies themselves start investing in each other, which also is simply because we don't have that many large European tech companies and money usually comes from the US," says Daniel Mügge, a specialist in the economics of new technologies and European AI governance at the University of Amsterdam. Dependence on US investment and tech titans for everything related to AI is increasingly raising concerns around "European digital sovereignty," says Mugge. "So many of our basic societal functions - healthcare, payment systems, public administration, communication networks - all these sorts of things rely on digital technologies," Mügge says. "And in an increasingly rough geopolitical climate, if companies or entities from another country control the basic infrastructure that your society needs to run, then you have a vulnerability." Read moreTrump unveils AI strategy to curb regulation, crack down on 'bias' Can Europe close the tech gap and shore up its digital security? "In my opinion, in the next 10 to 20 years, it is going to be sink or swim for the Europeans, and whether they develop independence and sovereignty in all manner of industries," says Mills. Such independence "is going to require a supranational industrial strategy", Mills adds, relying on companies like ASML to limit European dependence on the US. ASML probably invested in Mistral AI for reasons that have nothing to do with European digital sovereignty. Mills says he thinks that ASML has "looked at what investment options it's got available in the AI space - and has judged that China is probably too geopolitically risky". And given the inconsistencies of the current US administration, "America is probably not the sort of long-term partner that they want". But the investment may still give the concept of European digital independence a boost, says Baradez. "It's an example that could give other large European companies ideas."

Chip giant ASML invests €1.3bn in French AI champion Mistral

The Dutch firm will become the largest shareholder in Mistral, with 11% ownership. ASML has agreed to invest €1.3 billion in France's Mistral AI as part of a funding round worth €1.7bn, the two firms said on Tuesday, confirming an earlier Reuters report. The funding values the French start-up at about €11.7bn, more than double the €5.8-bn valuation it achieved last year. It also makes Mistral, a European rival to Sam Altman's OpenAI, one of Europe's most valuable private companies, despite less than three years in business. For comparison, OpenAI is valued at around $500bn (€425bn), meaning Europe is still playing catch-up to US heavyweights. "The collaboration between Mistral AI and ASML aims to generate clear benefits for ASML customers through innovative products and solutions enabled by AI, and will offer potential for joint research to address future opportunities," said ASML president and CEO Christophe Fouquet. Thanks to the fresh investment, the Dutch firm will become the largest shareholder in Mistral, with 11% ownership. Other participants in Mistral's funding round include prior investors like Nvidia, Bpifrance, Andreessen Horowitz, General Catalyst and DST Global. Roger Dassen, ASML's chief financial officer, will also join Mistral's board. A European champion? ASML is one of Europe's most valuable public firms and makes equipment required to manufacture semiconductor chips, which are in turn necessary to run AI models. At a time of heightened geopolitical tensions, the deal between the European companies reduces dependence on overseas players, pleasing those calling for the localisation of supply chains. The partnership will also allow ASML to integrate Mistral AI technology into its manufacturing processes. It is an unusual move for the chip equipment firm, which rarely invests in start-ups and has never previously backed an AI firm. "We are proud to engage in this long-term partnership with ASML, combining our frontier AI expertise with ASML's unmatched industrial leadership and most sophisticated engineering capabilities," said Mistral AI co-founder and CEO Arthur Mensch. He added: "We believe this partnership will strengthen Mistral AI's proposition, position, and value in the AI market."

Mistral AI raises $2B led by semiconductor equipment maker ASML at $14B valuation - SiliconANGLE

Mistral AI raises $2B led by semiconductor equipment maker ASML at $14B valuation French artificial intelligence leader Mistral AI today announced it has raised €1.7 billion, about $2 billion, in a Series C funding round led by Dutch semiconductor equipment manufacturer ASML Holding NV. The round more than doubles Mistral's $6 billion valuation, which it achieved during a $640 million round led by General Catalyst last year, to around $13.7 billion. Nvidia Corp., DST Global, Andreessen Horowitz, Bpifrance, General Catalyst, Index Ventures and Lightspeed also participated in the round. Mistral AI is one of the most prominent European AI developers with advanced multilingual large language models and is considered a rival to United States-based AI firms such as Sam Altman's OpenAI and Google LLC's Gemini. The company's own chatbot, Le Chat, has received multiple updates that make it a direct competitor, such as the addition of deep research, image editing and voice mode. Le Chat's voice mode is powered by Voxtral, Mistral's open source, state-of-the-art speech understanding AI foundation model that the company says outperforms OpenAI's Whisper model. In May, the company launched Mistral Medium 3, a cost-performance optimized model that outperforms Meta Platforms Inc.'s Llama 4 Maverick and enterprise solutions like Cohere Inc.'s Command A. Less than a month later, the company introduced Mistral Code, a developer-focused assistant designed to run inside code editors. Mistral also debuted Magistral, the company's lineup of reasoning-optimized AI models, in June, which makes the company competitive within the current trend of "thinking" style AI foundation models. To train and run powerful large language models, many AI companies must forge deep partnerships with specialized infrastructure and chip companies to provide them with the foundation to build out data centers and AI capabilities. ASML manufactures lithography equipment that enables major companies such as Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Intel Corp. and Apple Inc. to produce the advanced chips essential for their product lines. ASML Chief Executive Christophe Fouquet commented that the strategic partnership with Mistral will lead to "generate clear benefits for ASML customers through innovative products and solutions," and drive potential joint research to gain traction in the future. Mistral AI CEO Arthur Mensch said the investment from ASML will empower the entire technology chain from the development of AI to the engineering of the infrastructure it runs on. "We have the ambition to help ASML and its numerous partners solve current and future engineering challenges through AI, and ultimately to advance the full semiconductor and AI value chain," said Mensch. As part of the investment, ASML Chief Financial Officer Roger Dassen will assume a role on Mistral's strategic committee board.

Mistral AI Secures €1.7 Bn Funding Led by ASML, Valuation Reaches €11.7 Bn | AIM

ASML invested €1.3 billion, becoming Mistral's largest shareholder with an 11% stake. French AI startup Mistral AI has raised €1.7 billion in a Series C funding round, led by Dutch semiconductor giant ASML, bringing its valuation to about €11.7 billion. ASML invested €1.3 billion, becoming Mistral's largest shareholder with an 11% stake and a seat on the company's strategic committee. "ASML is proud to enter a strategic partnership with Mistral AI, and to be the lead investor in this funding round," said CEO Christophe Fouquet. "The collaboration between Mistral AI and ASML aims to generate clear benefits for ASML customers through innovative products and solutions enabled by AI, and will offer potential for joint research to address future opportunities." The round also saw participation from major investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, DST Gl

Funding round that includes ASML could value France's Mistral at $14bn - reports

Paris based AI start-up Mistral is reported to be finalising a C Round of $2bn, while Reuters says Dutch ASML is set to become top shareholder. Europe's AI darling, Paris-based Mistral, which was founded in 2023, is staying tight-lipped but Bloomberg is reporting that an upcoming fundraising round of over $2bn could value the company at $14bn, making it one of Europe's most valuable tech start-ups. Reuters meanwhile says Dutch chips firm ASML will be by far the biggest investor in this round, making it the largest shareholder, and giving it a place on Mistral's board. Founded by former Google DeepMind researcher Arthur Mensch, and ex Meta researchers Guillaume Lample, and Timothée Lacroix - the three all studied at École Polytechnique in Paris - Nvidia-backed Mistral has a stated mission of "democratising artificial intelligence through open-source, efficient, and innovative AI models, products, and solutions", and a B round raise in July 2024, already valued the young start-up at $6bn last year. The raise happens at a time when its giant US competitors like Anthropic and OpenAI are raising major rounds. Anthropic confirmed last week it had raised $13bn in a funding round led by Iconiq, valuing the company at a post-money $183bn, cementing its place as a real competitor to OpenAI, which has been busy fundraising this year too. Along with Iconiq, Anthropic's round was co-led by Fidelity Management & Research Company and Lightspeed Venture Partners. It's hoped that Mistral's latest round will give the French start-up a war chest to help create a true European competitor to the US and China in the Gen AI space. An exclusive from Reuters cites anonymous sources who say Dutch maker of chipmaking equipment, ASML, will be the biggest investor in this round, committing some $1.5bn, making it the top shareholder at the young AI company, and taking a seat on the board. When confirmed the raise will make Mistral the most valuable AI start-up in Europe. Don't miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic's digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.

ASML says it will take 11% stake in Mistral AI

AMSTERDAM, Sept 9 (Reuters) - ASML (ASML.AS), opens new tab will invest 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in French artificial intelligence startup Mistral AI, becoming its main shareholder with a stake of about 11%, the Dutch chip equipment maker said on Tuesday, confirming a Reuters report from Sunday. The company will also partner with Mistral AI to use AI models across its product portfolio and gain a seat on Mistral's strategic committee, it said in a statement. ($1 = 0.8495 euros) Reporting by Nathan Vifflin and Gianluca Lo Nostro; Editing by Tom Hogue Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

ASML invests $1.5B in French AI startup Mistral, forming European tech alliance

LONDON -- ASML, a leading Dutch maker of chipmaking gear, is investing 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) into French artificial intelligence startup Mistral AI, the two said on Tuesday, announcing a partnership between two of Europe's top technology companies. ASML Holding, based in Veldhoven, Netherlands, holds an important role in the global tech industry because it makes equipment used to manufacture semiconductors, including the most advanced microchips used for cutting-edge AI systems. Mistral was founded two years ago in Paris by former researchers at Google DeepMind and Meta Platforms and quickly became a European tech darling. The partnership underscores Europe's efforts to reduce exposure to American technology. President Donald Trump's increasingly hostile attitude to European Union tech regulations has fueled debate about whether the continent is too dependent on services provided by U.S. tech companies such as cloud computing and mobile operating systems. Mistral makes the Le Chat chatbot but it has struggled to keep up with American AI companies like ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, and Chinese rivals like DeepSeek. ASML's chipmaking equipment can cost hundreds of millions of dollars but the U.S. government has blocked it from selling its most advanced machines to China. The deal gives ASML an 11% stake in Mistral, and values the startup at about 11.7 billion euros. The 1.3 billion euro investment is part of a larger funding round worth 1.7 billion euros, which also involves venture capital firms and chipmaker Nvidia. Mistral CEO Arthur Mensch said in a press release that the alliance combines Mistral's "frontier AI expertise with ASML's unmatched industrial leadership and most sophisticated engineering capabilities." "Together, we will accelerate technological progress across the global semiconductor and AI value chain," Mensch said.

ASML invests $1.5B in French AI startup Mistral, forming European tech alliance

LONDON (AP) -- ASML, a leading Dutch maker of chipmaking gear, is investing 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) into French artificial intelligence startup Mistral AI, the two said on Tuesday, announcing a partnership between two of Europe's top technology companies. ASML Holding, based in Veldhoven, Netherlands, holds an important role in the global tech industry because it makes equipment used to manufacture semiconductors, including the most advanced microchips used for cutting-edge AI systems. Mistral was founded two years ago in Paris by former researchers at Google DeepMind and Meta Platforms and quickly became a European tech darling. The partnership underscores Europe's efforts to reduce exposure to American technology. President Donald Trump's increasingly hostile attitude to European Union tech regulations has fueled debate about whether the continent is too dependent on services provided by U.S. tech companies such as cloud computing and mobile operating systems. Mistral makes the Le Chat chatbot but it has struggled to keep up with American AI companies like ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, and Chinese rivals like DeepSeek. ASML's chipmaking equipment can cost hundreds of millions of dollars but the U.S. government has blocked it from selling its most advanced machines to China. The deal gives ASML an 11% stake in Mistral, and values the startup at about 11.7 billion euros. The 1.3 billion euro investment is part of a larger funding round worth 1.7 billion euros, which also involves venture capital firms and chipmaker Nvidia. Mistral CEO Arthur Mensch said in a press release that the alliance combines Mistral's "frontier AI expertise with ASML's unmatched industrial leadership and most sophisticated engineering capabilities." "Together, we will accelerate technological progress across the global semiconductor and AI value chain," Mensch said.

Mistral cements AI lead in Europe with cash infusion

Paris (AFP) - France's Mistral on Tuesday cemented its position as Europe's top AI hope against far larger US and Chinese competitors after a record fundraising round and a tie-up with chipmaking equipment heavweight ASML. The 1.7 billion euro ($2 billion) cash infusion values Mistral at 11.7 billion euros, double its heft last year but a fraction of the $183 billion price tag placed on US firm Anthropic this month. ASML, a key producer of the machines that churn out the chips powering artificial intelligence models, was the lead investor, with a 1.3-billion-euro infusion that gives the Dutch company an 11 percent stake in Mistral. Mistral has been touted as a European AI champion as technological sovereignty concerns fester between the European Union and the United States under the second administration of President Donald Trump. The deal "aims to generate clear benefits for ASML customers through innovative products and solutions enabled by AI," the Dutch firm's boss Christophe Fouquet said in a statement, pointing to "potential for joint research" in future. Mistral chief executive Arthur Mensch said its AI could help ASML "solve current and future engineering challenges", leading to benefits for both semiconductor hardware and the AI software that runs on it. ASML said it would gain a seat on Mistral's strategic committee, giving the Dutch firm "an advisory role in Mistral AI's future strategy and technology decisions". ASML's Chief Financial Officer Roger Dassen will assume this role. 'Real alternative' Mistral's fundraising comes after months of rumours that it could be the target of a takeover bid by Apple, which has lagged other tech giants in developing its own AI. But the latest funding round "reaffirms the company's independence", Mistral said in its statement. Tying Mistral more closely into the wider European high-tech sector through ASML was necessary to compete, the founder of AI and data firm Ekimetrics Jean-Baptiste Bouzige told AFP. "There's no way to be in the fight in this sector while remaining strictly French," he said, adding that "Europe is the appropriate scale" for a company like Mistral. Other players in the latest investment rounded included chip giant Nvidia, venture capital funds Index Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz and French public investment bank Bpifrance. Mensch co-founded Mistral in 2023 after working for Google's DeepMind AI division, while fellow founders Guillaume Lample and Timothee Lacroix previously worked at Meta's AI lab. The chief executive told the Wall Street Journal in June that Mistral was on course to generate $100 million in annual revenue. Bet on 'open source' Mistral's key products include Le Chat, a large language model (LLM) chatbot competing with the likes of ChatGPT from the sector's American heavyweight OpenAI. But OpenAI, headed by Sam Altman, operates on a different scale: It is reportedly in talks to allow employees to sell shares at a $500 billion valuation. As well as text, Mistral offers generative AI models capable of turning out images and computer code. The company has opened offices in Paris, London, Luxembourg, New York, California's Palo Alto and Singapore and expanded to over 350 staff. One factor setting it apart has been its practice from the beginning of releasing "open source" versions of its AI models, allowing other developers to run and modify them for their own purposes. This year Mistral has announced a slew of partnerships, including with American chip giant Nvidia to create a cloud computing platform, or with Saudi investment fund MGX to build an AI campus outside Paris. Mistral has also signed a deal with Agence France-Presse (AFP) for Le Chat to draw on the news agency's decades of archives in six languages to generate responses to users' queries about news and current events.

Exclusive: ASML becomes Mistral AI's top shareholder after leading latest funding round, sources say

NEW YORK, Sept 7 - ASML (ASML.AS), opens new tab, a crucial supplier of advanced chipmaking equipment, is set to become the top shareholder of French artificial intelligence startup Mistral AI in a move to strengthen European tech sovereignty, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The Dutch ASML is committing 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) for Mistral's 1.7 billion euro (~$2 billion) fundraise and is expected to get a board seat at Mistral, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss private negotiations. The round will make Mistral the most valuable AI company in Europe with a 10-billion-euro ($11.7 billion) pre-money valuation in its latest Series C funding round, the people said. ASML declined to comment. Mistral did not respond to Reuters' request for comment. Often presented as France's and Europe's AI champion, Mistral competes with U.S. giants such as OpenAI and Alphabet's Google. A stake in Mistral would tie together two European technology leaders, and the cash from ASML could help Mistral make Europe less reliant on U.S. and Chinese AI models, the sources said. ASML makes lithography equipment crucial for cutting-edge chip production and uses AI to help make its tools more efficient. The company could benefit from implementing Mistral's data analytics and AI capabilities to improve the performance of its tools and develop additional products. ASML is the sole supplier of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment to chip manufacturers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (2330.TW), opens new tab and Intel (INTC.O), opens new tab. The EUV systems cost roughly $180 million and are necessary to manufacture the most advanced chips. Mistral, backed by Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab, was valued at more than $6 billion after its Series B funding round last year and the Financial Times reported earlier this month that Mistral is in talks with MGX and other investors to raise $1 billion at a valuation of $10 billion. Last week, Bloomberg News reported that Mistral's funding round is set for a $14 billion valuation. It was founded in 2023 by Arthur Mensch, a former DeepMind researcher, and ex-Meta researchers Timothée Lacroix and Guillaume Lample. Bank of America is said to have advised ASML on its investment in Mistral, the people said. Bank of America declined to comment. Reporting by Milana Vinn in New York and Max A. Cherney in San Francisco; Editing by Ken Li, Dawn Kopecki and Andrea Ricci Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab * Suggested Topics: * Artificial Intelligence Milana Vinn Thomson Reuters Milana Vinn reports on technology, media, and telecom (TMT) mergers and acquisitions. Her content usually appears in the markets and deals sections of the website. Milana previously worked at GLG and PE Hub, where she spent several years covering TMT deals in private equity. She graduated from CUNY Graduate School of Journalism with Masters in Business Journalism. Max A. Cherney Thomson Reuters Max A. Cherney is a correspondent for Reuters based in San Francisco, where he reports on the semiconductor industry and artificial intelligence. He joined Reuters in 2023 and has previously worked for Barron's magazine and its sister publication, MarketWatch. Cherney graduated from Trent University with a degree in history.

Mistral AI raises 1.7 billion euros as ASML becomes its top shareholder - The Economic Times

ASML is investing 1.3 billion euros in Mistral AI as part of a series C funding round, making it Mistral's main shareholder as it will hold a stake of about 11%.French artificial intelligence startup Mistral AI has raised 1.7 billion euros ($2 billion) in its latest funding round led by Dutch chip equipment maker ASML, the companies said on Tuesday, confirming a Reuters report from Sunday. ASML is investing 1.3 billion euros in Mistral AI as part of a series C funding round, making it Mistral's main shareholder as it will hold a stake of about 11%. The latest funding round gives Mistral an 11.7 billion-euro post-money valuation, Mistral said in a statement, becoming the most valuable AI company in Europe. The deal positions the Dutch chip equipment maker as the top backer of Mistral AI, widely considered one of Europe's best shots at competing with U.S. AI giants such as OpenAI, Meta and Alphabet's Google. Besides ASML, other investors who joined the fundraising are DST Global, Andreessen Horowitz, Bpifrance, General Catalyst, Index Ventures, Lightspeed and NVIDIA, Mistral said. ASML will also partner with Mistral to integrate AI models across its semiconductor equipment portfolio and gain a seat on the French startup's strategic committee through finance chief Roger Dassen.

ASML Emerges As Primary Shareholder Of Nvidia-Backed Mistral, With A $1.5 Billion Investment: Report - Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG), ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

The leading Dutch chipmaker, ASML ASML, is reportedly set to become the primary shareholder of Nvidia NVDA-backed French AI startup Mistral AI after leading its latest funding round. ASML Invests Billions In Mistral AI To Boost European AI Power ASML is putting 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) into Mistral AI's 1.7 billion euro (~$2 billion) funding round, according to Reuters. This major investment will position ASML as Mistral AI's largest shareholder, based on a pre-money valuation of 10 billion euros ($11.7 billion) in the latest Series C funding round. Check out the current price of ASML stock here. Mistral AI, often touted as France's and Europe's AI champion, is a key competitor to U.S. giants such as OpenAI and Google GOOG GOOGL. The investment from ASML could potentially reduce Europe's dependence on U.S. and Chinese AI models. ASML, Mistral AI did not immediately respond to Benzinga's request for comment. ASML, renowned for its lithography equipment crucial to advanced chip manufacturing, leverages AI to boost the efficiency of its tools. Integrating Mistral's data analytics and AI expertise could further enhance ASML's equipment and drive the creation of new products. See Also: Tether Didn't Sell Bitcoin, CEO Paolo Ardoino Says: Will Keep Investing Profits In Safe Assets As 'World Continues To Get Darker' - Benzinga India Focus Amid China Jitters, As Global LLM Market Heats Up This investment comes at a time when ASML is also exploring opportunities in India amid geopolitical risks that threaten its business in China. The move to invest in Mistral AI aligns with ASML's strategy to strengthen its position in the global tech landscape. Earlier this year, Mistral AI secured a massive funding boost of $1 billion, positioning it as a formidable global contender in the large language model (LLM) space. The global LLM market size was estimated at $5.6174 billion in 2024 and projected to reach $35.4344 billion by 2030, reflecting the immense potential of Mistral AI's AI capabilities. Last Week, the Jeff-Bezos backed Anthropic witnessed a significant surge in its valuation. The company's worth has more than doubled, now standing at $183 billion post-money, following a $13 billion fundraise. Benzinga's Edge Rankings place ASML in the 89th percentile for quality and the 93rd percentile for growth, reflecting its strong performance in both areas. Check the detailed report here. READ NEXT: Nvidia's Empire Just Took A Hit - Broadcom's $10 Billion Deal Is The Plot Twist Image via Shutterstock Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. ASMLASML Holding NV$778.01-0.47%Stock Score Locked: Want to See it? Benzinga Rankings give you vital metrics on any stock - anytime. Reveal Full ScoreEdge RankingsMomentum44.03Growth93.27Quality89.76Value13.62Price TrendShortMediumLongOverviewGOOGAlphabet Inc$235.230.03%GOOGLAlphabet Inc$235.250.11%NVDANVIDIA Corp$167.110.05%Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

ASML becomes Mistral AI's top shareholder after leading latest funding round - The Economic Times

ASML, a crucial supplier of advanced chipmaking equipment, is set to become the top shareholder of French artificial intelligence startup Mistral AI in a move to strengthen European tech sovereignty, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The Dutch ASML is committing €1.3 billion ($1.5 billion) for Mistral's €1.7 billion (~$2 billion) fundraise and is expected to get a board seat at Mistral, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss private negotiations. The round will make Mistral the most valuable AI company in Europe with a €10-billion ($11.7 billion) pre-money valuation in its latest Series C funding round, the people said. ASML declined to comment. Mistral did not respond to Reuters' request for comment. Often presented as France's and Europe's AI champion, Mistral competes with US giants such as OpenAI and Alphabet's Google. A stake in Mistral would tie together two European technology leaders, and the cash from ASML could help Mistral make Europe less reliant on US and Chinese AI models, the sources said. ASML makes lithography equipment crucial for cutting-edge chip production and uses AI to help make its tools more efficient. The company could benefit from implementing Mistral's data analytics and AI capabilities to improve the performance of its tools and develop additional products. ASML is the sole supplier of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment to chip manufacturers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co and Intel. The EUV systems cost roughly $180 million and are necessary to manufacture the most advanced chips. Mistral, backed by Nvidia, was valued at more than $6 billion after its Series B funding round last year and the Financial Times reported earlier this month that Mistral is in talks with MGX and other investors to raise $1 billion at a valuation of $10 billion. Last week, Bloomberg News reported that Mistral's funding round is set for a $14 billion valuation. It was founded in 2023 by Arthur Mensch, a former DeepMind researcher, and ex-Meta researchers Timothee Lacroix and Guillaume Lample. Bank of America is said to have advised ASML on its investment in Mistral, the people said. Bank of America declined to comment.

ASML-Mistral AI deal boosts Europe tech hopes as Trump rivalry heats up

STOCKHOLM/BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Dutch chip-gear maker ASML's $1.5 billion investment in French artificial intelligence firm Mistral has given a shot in the arm to Europe's AI ambitions and hopes for more regional tech sovereignty against the dominance of U.S. and Asian rivals. The deal, first reported by Reuters and confirmed on Tuesday, will see ASML become the top shareholder of Mistral, often presented as Europe's AI champion in a sector in which U.S. giants such as OpenAI and Alphabet's Google hold sway. The move, which gives ASML an 11% stake in the firm that has received big U.S. funding, drew cheers from around Europe, where the global trade conflict with U.S. President Donald Trump has shone a harsh spotlight on weaknesses in European tech and AI. "ASML's stake in Mistral AI is a game-changer for Europe," EU lawmaker Stephanie Yon-Courtin, who is involved in regional tech issues, told Reuters, adding it paired the region's best semiconductor expertise with cutting-edge AI. "It strengthens our digital sovereignty, boosts innovation, and sends a clear signal to global Big Tech: Europe is ready to lead, not follow." Europe's tech lag has spooked political and industry leaders. It has no real rivals to U.S. behemoths such as Meta, Nvidia, Microsoft or OpenAI, whose valuations reach into the trillions of dollars. Mistral, backed by U.S. funds such as DST Global, Andreessen Horowitz and General Catalyst, is valued at just under $12 billion in its latest fundraising. European leaders from French President Emmanuel Macron to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz have been calling for digital sovereignty of Europe, as they are increasingly wary of the continent's dependency on U.S. tech companies, and after drawing ire from the U.S. President Donald Trump over issues from trade to defence. In a bid to fight back, in September last year, former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi issued a nearly 400-page report on what the European Union needs to do to keep pace economically with rivals. 'MINDSET SHIFT' Analysts said the practical benefits of the ASML-Mistral tie-up remained to be seen despite the firms touting plans to solve "future engineering challenges through AI". Most focused on the strong political message it sent. "This move reflects the mindset shift taking place across Europe," said Sten Tamkivi, partner at venture capital firm Plural, which has backed companies like Germany's Helsing, an AI start-up active in the defence sector. "This deal shows that there's an opportunity for us to make more of our hard assets to strengthen our sovereignty." The European Commission is trying to encourage innovative start-up firms to stay in Europe rather than moving to the U.S. with rules that would allow them to more easily operate across the 27-nation European Union bloc. "Europe needs to have its own digital capacities and invest in its technological sovereignty," European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier told Reuters. However, there remain roadblocks, with big European businesses slower to get on board with local tech start-ups as investors or clients and tougher regional regulation. Stephanie Yon-Courtin told Reuters she was particularly pleased, with the ASML-Mistral deal, to be seeing "a European investor supporting a European AI champion". "Europe is making progress," Mistral CEO Arthur Mensch said in a separate statement on Tuesday from EU-Inc, an initiative backed by more than 16,000 founders and investors looking to boost the region's tech prowess. "But that ambition will only count if the European Commission and national governments match it." (Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm and Foo Yun Chee in Brussels; Editing by Adam Jourdan and Jan Harvey)

ASML partners with Mistral AI via investment

ASML announces a strategic partnership with Mistral AI, based on a long-term collaboration agreement and a €1.3bn investment by the Dutch group in the French leader in artificial intelligence. They will explore the use of AI models in ASML's products as well as in its research, development, and operations to deliver faster time-to-market and more powerful holistic lithography systems to its customers. In addition, ASML will invest €1.3bn in Mistral AI's Series C funding round as the lead investor, resulting in the semiconductor equipment manufacturer holding an approximately 11% stake in the company. As part of this, it will obtain a seat on Mistral AI's strategic committee, giving it an advisory role in the French company's future strategy and technological decisions. This seat will be occupied by Roger Dassen, ASML's CFO.

Mistral AI raises 1.7 billion euros as ASML becomes its top shareholder

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - French artificial intelligence startup Mistral AI has raised 1.7 billion euros ($2 billion) in its latest funding round, led by Dutch chip equipment maker ASML, the companies said on Tuesday. The statement confirmed a Reuters report from Sunday. ASML is investing 1.3 billion euros in Mistral AI as part of a series C funding round, making it Mistral's main shareholder with a stake of about 11%. The latest funding round gives Mistral an 11.7 billion-euro valuation, Mistral said in a statement, becoming the most valuable AI company in Europe. The deal is a boost for Europe's AI ambitions, pairing the continent's most credible rival to U.S. giants OpenAI, Meta and Alphabet's Google with one of its largest tech companies. Mistral, founded in 2023 by former researchers from Google DeepMind and Meta, has positioned itself as Europe's AI alternative to the U.S. and is a centerpiece of France's strategy to become a leading AI competitor. Netherlands-based ASML has recently strengthened its French connections by appointing former French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire as an adviser to its executive board. The company is also led by French CEO Christophe Fouquet, who took the helm in 2024. "It helps that ASML is well connected to the industrial and political establishment to pick and choose its partners," said ING analyst Jan Frederik Slijkerman. "There is an industrial rational to develop products together," he added. "For ASML it is probably easier to develop AI based products through a partnership then to do this in house." Besides ASML, other investors who joined the fundraising are DST Global, Andreessen Horowitz, Bpifrance, General Catalyst, Index Ventures, Lightspeed and Nvidia, Mistral said. ASML will also partner with Mistral to integrate AI models across its semiconductor equipment portfolio and gain a seat on the French startup's strategic committee through finance chief Roger Dassen. (Reporting by Nathan Vifflin and Gianluca Lo Nostro; Editing by Tom Hogue, Jacqueline Wong and Matt Scuffham)

ASML to Invest $1.5 Billion in French AI Startup

ASML Holding said it is investing 1.3 billion euros ($1.53 billion) in French artificial-intelligence startup Mistral AI, in a deal that links up two of Europe's top technology companies. Dutch maker of semiconductor-manufacturing ASML said Tuesday that the investment--part of Mistral's latest funding round--gives it a 11% stake in Mistral and a seat on its strategic committee. The two companies also entered into a strategic partnership, under which ASML will use AI models across its product portfolio as well as for research, development and operations, it said. Write to Adria Calatayud at [email protected]

ASML is Mistral Gagnant

This fundraising is expected to bring Mistral's valuation to €10bn before the investment, making it the most valuable AI company on the continent. Founded in 2023 by Arthur Mensch (formerly of DeepMind), Timothée Lacroix, and Guillaume Lample (formerly of Meta), Mistral is already seen as a flagship of European AI. Its positioning against giants such as OpenAI and Google makes it a strategic player in the global race for artificial intelligence. ASML's investment is part of an industrial integration strategy. Specializing in advanced lithography systems, the Dutch company already uses AI to optimize its machines, which are essential for manufacturing advanced chips. By joining forces with Mistral, ASML could not only improve its data analysis capabilities, but also accelerate the development of new tools that natively integrate artificial intelligence. This merger between two European technology champions could mark a turning point in the fight for the Old Continent's digital independence. It reflects a shared desire to reduce dependence on AI models developed across the Atlantic or in China, while building a credible and competitive European alternative. ASML's support for Mistral also sends a strong signal to investors and public decision-makers. A few days ago, The Information revealed that Apple had considered making an offer to buy Mistral. Neither ASML nor Mistral has commented on this information. Bank of America, which reportedly advised ASML on the deal, also declined to comment. At the same time, other negotiations are underway: according to the Financial Times, Mistral is in talks with MGX and other funds to complete its fundraising. Bloomberg News has even reported a valuation of up to €14bn.