Mistral AI, the French startup, has successfully concluded its highly anticipated Series A funding round, securing €385 million (approximately $415 million at the current exchange rate). According to Bloomberg, this funding places the company’s valuation at around $2 billion. Simultaneously, Mistral AI is launching its commercial platform today.
Just under six months ago, Mistral AI raised a significant $112 million seed round with the goal of establishing a European competitor to OpenAI. Co-founded by former Google DeepMind and Meta professionals, Mistral AI focuses on developing foundational models with an open technology approach.
Leading the recent funding round is Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), with repeat investment from Lightspeed Venture Partners. A notable lineup of investors is also participating, including Salesforce, BNP Paribas, CMA-CGM, General Catalyst, Elad Gil, and Conviction.
CEO Arthur Mensch emphasized Mistral AI’s mission to create a global generative artificial intelligence champion with an open, responsible, and decentralized technological approach.
In September, Mistral AI introduced its first model, Mistral 7B, a large language model designed not to directly compete with GPT-4 or Claude 2. Instead of providing API access, Mistral AI made the model available as a free download, operating under the open-source Apache 2.0 license.
Mistral AI played a pivotal role in influencing discussions surrounding the EU’s AI Act, advocating for a complete exemption for foundational models from regulations, asserting that regulations should apply to use cases and end-user-facing products.
While Mistral AI aims to monetize its foundational models, it is now opening its developer platform in beta. Companies will have the option to pay for access to Mistral AI’s models through APIs. The platform includes the Mistral 7B model (“Mistral-tiny”) and introduces the Mixtral 8x7B model (“Mistral-small”), utilizing a router network to enhance processing efficiency. Mixtral 8x7B is also released under the Apache 2.0 license.
In addition, Mistral AI introduces Mistral-medium, a superior-performing model available exclusively through the paid API platform, lacking a downloadable link. The company continues to navigate the evolving landscape of generative artificial intelligence with a commitment to openness and responsible technology development.
