Mistral raises €3 billion at a valuation of about $24 billion
In Paris, France, French artificial intelligence company Mistral has raised €3 billion in a funding round at a valuation of approximately €21 billion, or $24 billion. As Channel NewsAsia reports, Mistral called the round the largest equity raise among Europe’s private technology companies.
Investors and use of funds
The round was co-led by existing investor PSG Equity, South Korea’s Samsung Electronics, and the EU-backed Scaleup Europe Fund. Samsung and the Scaleup Europe Fund invested in Mistral for the first time.
Mistral Chief Financial Officer Johan Bergqvist told Reuters that the company will direct the funds raised toward developing its models and research in advanced areas of artificial intelligence. According to him, following the round, Mistral became Europe’s second-most valuable private technology group.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Open models and international growth
Mistral develops open artificial intelligence models that its more than 125 clients can download and customize on their own servers. Bergqvist said the company expects to reach $1 billion in annual recurring revenue by the end of the year.
According to him, Mistral’s client base is becoming more geographically diverse, with particularly notable growth recorded in Asia and North America. He also noted that the possibility of an initial public offering is being considered in the future, but the company is not currently holding IPO talks.
Microsoft, which in July agreed to spend billions of dollars on Mistral’s computing infrastructure in Europe, did not take part in the new funding round.
