Paris-based Mistral AI Secures €1.7 Billion In Series C Round

The deal gives ASML an 11% stake, making it Mistral’s largest shareholder, and values the startup at €11.7 billion, nearly doubling its June 2024 valuation.

Existing investors, including Nvidia, DST Global, Andreessen Horowitz, Bpifrance, General Catalyst, Index Ventures, and Lightspeed, also participated. ASML contributed €1.3 billion, with its CFO Roger Dassen joining Mistral’s strategic committee.

“This investment brings together two technology leaders operating in the same value chain. 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 Mistral AI CEO Arthur Mensch.

Founded in 2023 by Arthur Mensch, a former DeepMind researcher, along with ex-Meta researchers Timothée Lacroix and Guillaume Lample, Mistral has quickly become Europe’s leading AI contender against U.S. rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic, and emerging Chinese players such as DeepSeek.

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The company develops large language models (LLMs) and recently launched its first reasoning model for advanced problem-solving in mathematics and coding.

Mistral now employs over 350 people and has secured contracts exceeding €1.4 billion since launch, with annual contract value already over €300 million. Its clients include major companies like Stellantis, CMA CGM, and French government departments.

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”.

The investment carries significant industrial impact. ASML, the sole supplier of extreme ultraviolet lithography systems for advanced chips, plans to use Mistral’s AI to optimize its tools and accelerate product development. In the short term, Mistral’s models will improve chipmaking processes, while long-term plans aim to integrate the semiconductor and AI value chains.

“We started to look for a partner, because we thought that this is not something we should try to do ourselves,” noted Christophe Fouquet, CEO of ASML said.

While European policymakers often emphasize technology sovereignty, ASML downplayed this framing. Fouquet described sovereignty as “an additional benefit” but emphasized that the partnership was driven primarily by mutual business value.

Mensch noted that collaborating with ASML will enable Mistral to develop AI systems beyond the generic capabilities of other models.

The deal raises Mistral’s total funding to nearly €2.8 billion since its launch, making it one of Europe’s most valuable AI startups. It still trails U.S. rivals, with OpenAI valued at $500 billion and Anthropic at $183 billion.

Despite this, Mistral’s focus on industrial applications and a strong European client base sets it apart. Reports also suggest the company is preparing to raise an additional $1 billion (€863 million), aiming for a $10 billion (€8.6 billion) valuation.

About Mistral AI

Founded in 2023, Mistral AI is a European frontier AI startup committed to making advanced AI accessible and abundant. Its mission is to empower individuals and organizations worldwide to build with and benefit from transformative AI technology, shaping a future where cutting-edge AI is within everyone’s reach.