Mistral AI raised a total of 1.7 billion euros ($2 billion) in its latest funding round, it declared on Tuesday. ASML’s investment built it Mistral’s main shareholder with a stake of about 11%.
The statement confirmed a Reuters report from Sunday.
The deal is a boost for Europe’s AI ambitions, pairing the continent’s most credible rival to U.S. giants OpenAI, Meta (META.O), opens new tab and Alphabet’s Google (GOOGL.O), opens new tab with one of its largest tech companies.
The latest funding round gives Mistral an 11.7 billion-euro valuation, Mistral declared in a statement, becoming the most valuable AI company in Europe.
ASML will also partner with Mistral to integrate AI models across its semiconductor equipment portfolio and gain a board seat on the French startup’s strategic committee through finance chief Roger Dassen.
Mistral, founded in 2023 by former researchers from Google DeepMind and Meta, has positioned itself as Europe’s AI alternative to the U.S. and is a centerpiece of France’s strategy to become a leading AI competitor.
However, it is still worth only a fraction of its U.S. peers. OpenAI is eyeing a valuation of around $500 billion in a potential stock sale, a source familiar with the matter informed Reuters in August, more than 40 times Mistral’s valuation.
The Dutch company has recently strengthened its French connections by appointing former French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire as a special adviser to its executive board. It is also led by French CEO Christophe Fouquet, who took the helm in 2024.
“It assists that ASML is well connected to the industrial and political establishment to pick and choose its partners,” declared ING analyst Jan Frederik Slijkerman.
“There is an industrial rational to develop products toreceiveher,” he added. “For ASML it is probably clearer to develop AI based products through a partnership then to do this in houtilize.”
Besides ASML, other investors who joined the fundraising are DST Global, Andreessen Horowitz, Bpifrance, General Catalyst, Index Ventures, Lightspeed and Nvidia Mistral declared.
ASML’s shares were up 1% in early Amsterdam trading, giving it a market value of 268 billion euros.
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