French artificial intelligence startup Mistral is in advanced talks to raise up to $1 billion in equity, led by Abu Dhabi’s MGX fund, Bloomberg reports, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The ambitious fundraising is part of a broader capital push that includes discussions with Bpifrance SACA and other French lenders to secure several hundred million euros in debt.
The move signals a strategic acceleration for Mistral, one of Europe’s most promising AI companies, as it seeks to establish itself as a global force capable of challenging the dominance of American players like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind. Founded in 2023 by former Meta and DeepMind researchers, the Paris-based firm has quickly grown into a cornerstone of France’s sovereign AI strategy.
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Mistral has already raised over $1.19 billion, achieving a $6.5 billion valuation following its Series B in June 2024. The company focuses on open-weight large language models (LLMs) — AI models that are accessible and modifiable by developers, offering transparency and adaptability. Its flagship product, the Le Chat chatbot, is widely seen as Europe’s response to ChatGPT.
Unlike its U.S. counterparts that mostly operate as closed platforms, Mistral’s approach to openness has drawn support from European enterprises and governments seeking alternatives to U.S.-controlled AI. Clients include BNP Paribas, AXA, Stellantis, and Veolia, with some reportedly signing contracts worth more than $100 million.
Infrastructure Expansion: Europe’s Largest AI Campus
Beyond software, Mistral is part of a landmark venture with MGX, Bpifrance, and Nvidia to build Europe’s largest AI data center campus near Paris. The massive facility will house thousands of Nvidia’s Blackwell chips—considered the gold standard for AI training—and is expected to scale up to 1.4 gigawatts of power capacity by 2028.
The facility is designed to function as Europe’s core AI compute hub, a critical asset as the region races to build independent capacity in response to fears of over-reliance on U.S.-based infrastructure like Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud. The French government, led by President Emmanuel Macron, has thrown its full weight behind the initiative as part of the France 2030 plan, which earmarks over €100 billion for AI and digital sovereignty.
France’s close alignment with the UAE on AI development has also deepened. The Emirati government has committed to investing €50 billion in AI infrastructure and ventures across France, including direct support for Mistral. The investment reflects growing geopolitical cooperation in AI between Europe and the Gulf — a move meant to counterbalance China and the U.S. in the emerging tech race.
This collaboration has also helped Mistral emerge as a key beneficiary of the UAE’s $100 billion MGX fund, created to make the Emirates a global AI leader. The fund has made Europe a focus, particularly France, thanks to its pro-innovation regulation and deep scientific talent pool.
Mistral’s rise is not just a success story for European tech; it’s a pivotal moment in the global AI power struggle. The EU has repeatedly raised concerns about being left behind as U.S. firms dominate the AI race. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, speaking at Paris’ VivaTech conference, strongly endorsed the need for “sovereign AI” — AI infrastructure controlled and owned locally — calling it essential for cultural autonomy and industrial competitiveness.
Mistral embodies that vision. With robust public and private backing, technical credibility, and a clear strategic mission, the company is one of the few European firms with a real chance of shaping the global AI narrative.
If successful, the fresh capital injection will fuel:
- Expansion of R&D to improve its open-weight models.
- Hiring and infrastructure scale-up.
- Acceleration of its European AI campus project.
- Commercial rollout across new verticals, including government, healthcare, and automotive.
The company’s growth also sends a message to other AI hopefuls in Europe that sovereign innovation is not only possible but fundable — provided there’s scale, clarity of vision, and alignment with national strategic priorities.
For Mistral, this is more than a funding round. It’s a shot at building Europe’s first truly global AI company, and potentially the strongest non-U.S. counterweight in the generative AI space to date.