Mistral AI Reaches $24B Valuation in Samsung-Led Funding Round

French artificial intelligence company Mistral AI has closed a €3 billion ($3.5 billion) funding round led by Samsung Electronics, nearly doubling its valuation to more than €21 billion ($24 billion), according to details first reported by CNBC.

The investment round also included the EU-backed Scaleup Europe Fund, managed by EQT, and existing investor PSG Equity. The new valuation represents substantial growth from Mistral's €11.7 billion valuation just one year ago, when Dutch chip equipment maker ASML led a previous round.

Building sovereign AI infrastructure

Mistral CEO Arthur Mensch told CNBC the capital will fund the company's own data center buildout and computing capacity expansion. The Paris-based firm plans to own approximately 100% more compute capacity within five years as it moves away from reliance on third-party infrastructure.

"Long term, the plan is to fully rely on capacity that we are building ourselves," Mensch said in an interview.

The company will also use the funds to train larger and faster AI models. Mensch indicated earlier this year that Mistral expects annual recurring revenue to exceed $1 billion in 2026, and suggested the new funding and partnerships would help the company surpass that target.

Positioning against U.S. and Chinese rivals

Mistral has carved out a distinct market position by offering open-weight AI models rather than the proprietary closed systems favored by OpenAI and Anthropic. The company is also marketing itself as a non-U.S., non-Chinese alternative, capitalizing on European demand for "sovereign AI" solutions that keep data and infrastructure within regional control.

The strategy includes working directly with enterprise customers to create custom AI tools integrated into their specific business processes. Mistral already integrates AI into ASML's manufacturing operations in the Netherlands, and Mensch said the company would pursue similar applications with Samsung in South Korea.

Why it matters

Mistral's valuation surge and Samsung partnership signal growing momentum for regional AI alternatives outside the U.S.-China duopoly. As governments and enterprises increasingly prioritize data sovereignty and supply chain independence, European AI companies with credible technical capabilities and local infrastructure stand to capture significant market share. The involvement of EU-backed investment vehicles alongside major Asian technology manufacturers suggests a coordinated effort to build viable counterweights to American AI dominance.

Competing with Chinese open-source models

While Mistral embraces open-weight approaches, it faces intense competition from capable Chinese AI laboratories that have released high-performing open-source models. Mensch acknowledged this challenge but argued that Chinese labs don't operate with enterprise customers outside China and face uncertainty around long-term support and potential export restrictions.

"At this point in time, we are seeing that the volatility in this space is actually quite extreme," Mensch said, emphasizing that Mistral's enterprise customers need assurance of continued model improvements and reliable support.

Mistral noted that while Chinese AI models can be deployed on its infrastructure, this arrangement doesn't create strong dependency on Chinese labs because customer data remains with Mistral.

These details were first reported by CNBC's Arjun Kharpal.