PARIS, Sep 9: French artificial intelligence company Mistral has raised €3 billion ($3.5 billion) in a new funding round, lifting its valuation to around €21 billion ($24 billion) and marking one of the biggest private technology investments in Europe.
The funding round was led by PSG Equity, with Samsung Electronics and the European Union backed Scaleup Europe Fund among the new investors. The investment gives Mistral additional financial strength as it expands its AI models and competes with much larger US companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic.
Mistral, founded only three years ago, has rapidly emerged as one of Europe’s leading AI companies. The latest investment makes it the continent’s second-most valuable privately held technology company, according to the company.
The Paris-based firm plans to use the fresh capital to accelerate the development of advanced AI models and frontier research. Its growing presence is also being viewed as an important part of Europe’s efforts to build greater technological independence and reduce reliance on foreign AI systems.
Mistral has expanded its customer base across North America and Asia as demand for artificial intelligence services continues to grow. The company is also projected to reach $1 billion in annual recurring revenue by the end of 2026.
Despite the scale of the latest investment, Mistral has no immediate plans for an initial public offering. The company said it would remain focused on expanding its products and strengthening its position in the rapidly evolving AI market.
The funding comes at a time when global investment in artificial intelligence continues to accelerate, with companies competing aggressively to develop increasingly capable models and secure access to computing infrastructure.