French AI startup Mistral not for sale, working on IPO: CEO
2025.01.21 06:12
Investing.com — Mistral AI, a leading European artificial intelligence (AI) company, has announced plans for an initial public offering (IPO), according to CEO Arthur Mensch. The company has denied any interest in a potential sale, focusing instead on its IPO and expansion plans.
Mensch confirmed the plans for an IPO during an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday, Bloomberg News reported. He also revealed that the French AI startup is opening an office in Singapore to concentrate on the Asia-Pacific region, bolstering its presence in Europe and the US.
Established in early 2023, Mistral AI was set up as a European competitor to OpenAI. The company was founded by former researchers from Google’s DeepMind and Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:). It has since developed a range of generative AI models, including a feature called Le Chat, which is similar to ChatGPT.
Mistral AI is seen by many investors as Europe’s top contender to establish a global AI player. In the previous year, the company secured €600 million ($621 million) in funding from investors such as General Catalyst, Andreessen Horowitz, and Lightspeed Venture Partners. This investment round pushed the company’s valuation to €5.8 billion.
Mensch has stated that Mistral AI can operate models more cost-effectively than its competitors. The company aims to cater to European firms concerned about their data being managed by companies outside the European Union. However, it remains smaller than its more heavily funded US competitors.
In comparison, Anthropic, a firm backed by Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:)., is reportedly in advanced discussions to raise $2 billion at a $60 billion valuation. In October, OpenAI secured funding of $6.6 billion, nearly doubling its valuation to $157 billion.
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