Mistral AI Seeks $1 Billion Funding at $10 Billion Valuation to Accelerate AI Development

Mistral in talks with VC firms, MGX to raise funds at $10 billion valuation, FT reports

Aug 1 (Reuters) - French artificial intelligence startup Mistral is in talks with investors, venture capital firms and Abu Dhabi's MGX to raise $1 billion at a valuation of $10 billion, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. The company launched in June Europe's first AI reasoning model, which uses logical thinking to create a response, as it tries to keep pace with American and Chinese rivals at the forefront of AI development. The funding would accelerate the commercial rollout of Mistral's Le Chat chatbot and support continued development of its large language models, the report said. MGX and Mistral did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. The startup raised 600 million euros in a Series B funding round that valued the company at 5.8 billion euros last year. Industry observers consider Mistral as Europe's best-positioned AI company to rival Silicon Valley leaders, though the French firm has yet to achieve comparable market traction or revenue scale. Mistral counts Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab, Andreessen Horowitz and Lightspeed Venture Partners among its investors. Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Mistral in talks with VC firms, MGX to raise funds at $10 billion valuation: Report - The Economic Times

The funding would accelerate the commercial rollout of Mistral's Le Chat chatbot and support continued development of its large language models. Mistral counts Nvidia, Andreessen Horowitz and Lightspeed Venture Partners among its investors.French artificial intelligence startup Mistral is in talks with investors, venture capital firms and Abu Dhabi's MGX to raise $1 billion at a valuation of $10 billion, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. The company launched in June Europe's first AI reasoning model, which uses logical thinking to create a response, as it tries to keep pace with American and Chinese rivals at the forefront of AI development. The funding would accelerate the commercial rollout of Mistral's Le Chat chatbot and support continued development of its large language models, the report said. MGX and Mistral did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. The startup raised 600 million euros in a Series B funding round that valued the company at 5.8 billion euros last year. Industry observers consider Mistral as Europe's best-positioned AI company to rival Silicon Valley leaders, though the French firm has yet to achieve comparable market traction or revenue scale. Mistral counts Nvidia, Andreessen Horowitz and Lightspeed Venture Partners among its investors.

Mistral Aims for $10 Billion Valuation in New Funding Round | PYMNTS.com

That's according to a report Friday (Aug. 1) by the Financial Times (FT), which says this is part of a push by the French startup to compete with wealthier artificial intelligence (AI) competitors in China and the U.S. Sources told the FT that Mistral is in talks with investors about raising $1 billion. The company's last valuation was 5.8 billion euros, or $6.7 billion. The news follows a report last month from Bloomberg News about a planned $1 billion funding round by Mistral. PYMNTS has contacted Mistral for comment but has not yet gotten a reply. The new funding would fuel the commercial rollout of Mistral's Le Chat chatbot and the ongoing improvement of its large language models, sources said. The FT notes that Mistral is viewed as Europe's chief hope for a homegrown AI company that can compete in the fast-growing field. French President Emmanuel Macron has been an especially vocal supporter, contending that Europe needs to have a "sovereign" option for AI so it doesn't have to depend only on the U.S. and China. As PYMNTS reported in June, Mistral recently launched a landmark collaboration with U.S. chipmaker Nvidia to develop next-generation AI cloud services in France. During a panel at the Viva Tech 2025 conference, Macron, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Mistral CEO Arthur Mensch "showcased a rare confluence of political power, industrial ambition and startup ingenuity," that report said. "This is a game changer," Macron said, praising the new partnership as crucial to strengthening France's technological independence. He also pointed out that the project would strengthen French sovereignty with its own AI cloud, data centers and computing capacity. "The initiative, which centers around building AI data centers in France using Nvidia chips, would expand Mistral's business model," the report added. "The AI startup -- widely considered Europe's OpenAI -- would transition from merely being a model developer to a vertically-integrated AI cloud provider." The FT had reported in June that Mistral's revenues have increased several times over since raising funds in 2024 and are on pace to exceed $100 million a year for the first time, if it can keep up its sales momentum. The report also points out that a relatively small number of major customers are fueling that level of growth. Sources said Mistral had closed or was about to close a handful of commercial contracts that would each be worth $100 million or more across a three-to-five year stretch.

Mistral in talks with VC firms, MGX to raise funds at $10 billion valuation, FT reports

(Reuters) -French artificial intelligence startup Mistral is in talks with investors, venture capital firms and Abu Dhabi's MGX to raise $1 billion at a valuation of $10 billion, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. The company launched in June Europe's first AI reasoning model, which uses logical thinking to create a response, as it tries to keep pace with American and Chinese rivals at the forefront of AI development. The funding would accelerate the commercial rollout of Mistral's Le Chat chatbot and support continued development of its large language models, the report said. MGX and Mistral did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. The startup raised 600 million euros in a Series B funding round that valued the company at 5.8 billion euros last year. Industry observers consider Mistral as Europe's best-positioned AI company to rival Silicon Valley leaders, though the French firm has yet to achieve comparable market traction or revenue scale. Mistral counts Nvidia, Andreessen Horowitz and Lightspeed Venture Partners among its investors. (Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)