Mistral AI, founded in 2023 by former DeepMind and Meta researchers, is quickly establishing itself as Europe’s leading AI startup with a valuation projected at €11.7 billion (~$13.8 billion) by 2025. The company secured record funding, raising €105 million in the largest seed round in Europe and €600 million in a Series B in 2024, followed by €1.7 billion in a Series C led by ASML. Mistral’s open-source approach has garnered attention, offering competitive large language models (LLMs) like Mistral 7B and Mixtral, which are available under an Apache 2.0 license. Their hybrid strategy combines free models with proprietary services, highlighted by their AI assistant, Le Chat, which gained over 1 million downloads rapidly. Mistral targets enterprise clients with customized solutions that prioritize data privacy and compliance, aligning with European regulations. This innovative approach positions Mistral as a formidable player against established U.S. giants while advocating for an open-source ethos in AI development.
Source link
