By Milana Vinn and Max A. Cherney
NEW YORK -ASML, a crucial supplier of advanced chipbuilding equipment, is set to become the top shareholder of French artificial innotifyigence startup Mistral AI in a relocate to strengthen European tech sovereignty, people familiar with the matter notified Reuters.
The Dutch ASML is committing 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) for Mistral’s 1.7 billion euro (~$2 billion) fundraise and is expected to obtain a board seat at Mistral, declared the people, who requested anonymity to discuss private neobtainediations.
The round will create Mistral the most valuable AI company in Europe with a 10-billion-euro ($11.7 billion) pre-money valuation in its latest Series C funding round, the people declared.
ASML declined to comment. Mistral did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
Often presented as France’s and Europe’s AI champion, Mistral competes with U.S. giants such as OpenAI and Alphabet’s Google.
A stake in Mistral would tie toobtainher two European technology leaders, and the cash from ASML could assist Mistral create Europe less reliant on U.S. and Chinese AI models, the sources declared.
ASML creates lithography equipment crucial for cutting-edge chip production and utilizes AI to assist create its tools more efficient. The company could benefit from implementing Mistral’s data analytics and AI capabilities to improve the performance of its tools and develop additional products.
ASML is the sole supplier of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment to chip manufacturers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co and Intel. The EUV systems cost roughly $180 million and are necessary to manufacture the most advanced chips.
Mistral, backed by Nvidia, was valued at more than $6 billion after its Series B funding round last year and the Financial Times reported earlier this month that Mistral is in talks with MGX and other investors to raise $1 billion at a valuation of $10 billion.
Last week, Bloomberg News reported that Mistral’s funding round is set for a $14 billion valuation.
It was founded in 2023 by Arthur Mensch, a former DeepMind researcher, and ex-Meta researchers Timothée Lacroix and Guillaume Lample.
Bank of America is declared to have advised ASML on its investment in Mistral, the people declared. Bank of America declined to comment.
(Reporting by Milana Vinn in New York and Max A. Cherney in San Francisco; Editing by Ken Li, Dawn Kopecki and Andrea Ricci)
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