Saturday, July 19, 2025

From Startup to Stardom: Mistral’s Rapid Rise in the Global AI Market

Reuters-Yonhap

The enterprise value of Mistral, an AI startup headquartered in Paris, France, has surged to around 5.8 billion euros (approximately $6.26 billion).

In just half a year since last December, their enterprise value has nearly tripled.

According to the Financial Times on the 11th (local time), Mistral was valued at 5.8 billion euros in the process of raising 600 million euros ($648 million) in capital.

The startup founded in mid-2022 has already grown into a large-scale company with substantial capital.

Mistral issued 458 million euros ($495 million) in stock and 132 million euros ($143 million) in bonds this fundraising.

Mistral is backed by the dominator of the AI semiconductor market Nvidia and Microsoft Corporation(MS), a partner of OpenAI.

Korea’s Samsung Electronics, Salesforce, IBM, and others have also invested in Mistral.

Financial companies such as Lightspeed, Andreessen Horowitz, BNP Paribas, and BPI France are also participating as investors.

MS invested 15 million euros ($17 million) in Mistral last February and decided to use Mistral’s AI software on their Azure cloud platform.

However, they did not participate in this additional fundraising.

Mistral’s capital raising is the largest ever for general-purpose AI (AGI) development outside of Silicon Valley.

Mistral plans to grow into a globally competitive AI company, securing over $1 billion in emergency funds that can be used for urgent purposes.

AI startups in Silicon Valley are also raising additional capital.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, raised $6 billion for his AI startup xAI.

OpenAI, which opened the era of AI with ChatGPT, also attracted $13 billion from MS.

Mistral had raised 150 million euros (approximately $162 million) just a few weeks after its launch in June 2023. At that time, Mistral’s capital raising was one of the largest in European history.

By December of that year, Mistral’s company value had grown to 2 billion euros ($2.16 billion).

Despite attracting significant capital, Mistral is a micro-enterprise in terms of size.

The total number of employees is only about 60, with 45 French, 10 American, and 5 British.

Approximately 75% of the employees are product research and development (R&D) specialists.

Unlike OpenAI, which does not disclose its source, the AGI being developed by Mistral is in open source format. Anyone who wants to test or modify Mistral’s AI to suit their needs can access the AI source.

Hot this week

U.S. Hits Chinese Graphite With 93% Tariff—Your Next EV Just Got Pricier

The U.S. imposes a 93.5% tariff on Chinese graphite, risking a $1,000 increase in EV prices as tax credits end and production costs rise.

Crypto Boom: XRP Soars After Congress Passes Stablecoin Bill

The Stablecoin Act has passed Congress, boosting crypto markets, with XRP hitting a new all-time high and regulatory clarity for stablecoins.

Market Panic? Rich Investors Saw a Bargain, Morgan Stanley Says

Morgan Stanley's profits surged as wealthy clients bought stocks during a market downturn, driven by Trump's tariff announcement.

Oil Prices Keep Dropping as Trade Fears Grow

Oil prices fell for the third consecutive day due to rising U.S. gasoline inventories and trade tensions impacting global demand.

Tesla and BYD Battle for Japan’s Electric Car Crown: Who Will Win?

Tesla and BYD aggressively expand in Japan's EV market, aiming to challenge local automakers amidst low EV adoption rates.

Topics

U.S. Hits Chinese Graphite With 93% Tariff—Your Next EV Just Got Pricier

The U.S. imposes a 93.5% tariff on Chinese graphite, risking a $1,000 increase in EV prices as tax credits end and production costs rise.

Crypto Boom: XRP Soars After Congress Passes Stablecoin Bill

The Stablecoin Act has passed Congress, boosting crypto markets, with XRP hitting a new all-time high and regulatory clarity for stablecoins.

Market Panic? Rich Investors Saw a Bargain, Morgan Stanley Says

Morgan Stanley's profits surged as wealthy clients bought stocks during a market downturn, driven by Trump's tariff announcement.

Oil Prices Keep Dropping as Trade Fears Grow

Oil prices fell for the third consecutive day due to rising U.S. gasoline inventories and trade tensions impacting global demand.

Tesla and BYD Battle for Japan’s Electric Car Crown: Who Will Win?

Tesla and BYD aggressively expand in Japan's EV market, aiming to challenge local automakers amidst low EV adoption rates.

Nvidia Stock Surges Past $170 After U.S. Clears China Chip Exports

Nvidia's stock surged over 4% after the Trump administration lifted export restrictions on H20 semiconductors to China.

Army’s New Shaving Rule Could Push Out Thousands of Black Soldiers

The U.S. Army's new shaving policy may disproportionately impact Black soldiers with shaving difficulties, raising concerns over its fairness.

Trump Slams Fed Chair Again, Demands Rates Below 1%

Trump criticizes Fed Chair Powell, insists interest rates should drop below 1%, claiming the economy is strong and inflation is nonexistent.

Related Articles