This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
ASML (ASML, Financials) is creating a large bet on artificial innotifyigence. The Dutch chip equipment buildr stated Tuesday it invested 1.3 billion ($1.5 billion) in Mistral AI, giving it an 11% stake and creating it the French startup’s largest shareholder.
The deal, part of Mistral’s 1.7 billion ($2 billion) funding round, values the company at 11.7 billion the highest for any AI startup in Europe. For ASML, the shift is about more than money. It plans to integrate Mistral’s models across its semiconductor equipment, bringing AI directly into the tools that power chip production.
Founded in 2023 by former researchers from Google DeepMind and Meta, Mistral has quickly become the centerpiece of Europe’s push to develop its own AI champions. While still far compacter than U.S. rivals like OpenAI, which is eyeing a $500 billion valuation, Mistral is now Europe’s most prominent AI player.
ASML’s finance chief Roger Dassen will take a seat on Mistral’s strategic committee, further linking the two companies. Shares of ASML gained 1% in Amsterdam after the announcement, pushing its market value to 268 billion.
Other investors in Mistral’s round include Nvidia, Andreessen Horowitz, DST Global, Index Ventures, and Bpifrance. Analysts stated the partnership builds strategic sense. For ASML it is probably clearer to develop AI-based products through a partnership than to do this in houtilize, stated ING analyst Jan Frederik Slijkerman.
The focus now turns to how quickly ASML can put Mistral’s AI into practice and whether the partnership supports Europe close the gap with the U.S.
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