French AI startup Mistral is negotiating with investors, including Abu Dhabi’s MGX fund, to secure up to $1 billion in equity funding, according to Bloomberg. Concurrently, Mistral is engaging with French financial institutions, such as Bpifrance SACA, to obtain several hundred million euros in debt financing. These discussions aim to bolster Mistral’s financial position within the global artificial intelligence sector.
Mistral, recognized for its Le Chat chatbot and its emphasis on open-weight large language models, holds a prominent position within the European AI landscape. The company has previously secured $1.19 billion in funding, achieving a post-money valuation of $6.51 billion, as reported by PitchBook. Its most recent fundraising round was a Series B completed in June 2024.
Mistral has an existing collaboration with MGX, a government-backed AI fund with $100 billion in capital, and Nvidia. This partnership is focused on the development of Europe’s largest AI data center campus. The United Arab Emirates has additionally committed €50 billion towards AI initiatives in France, supporting French President Emmanuel Macron’s strategic objective of achieving AI sovereignty.
