Mistral AI, a Paris-based company specializing in generative artificial intelligence, has announced a significant €15M investment from Microsoft. This investment is part of a partnership aimed at providing developers with greater access to the AI technology of the french firm, including its flagship product, Mistral Large, a language model designed to rival top-tier models like OpenAI’s GPT-4.
Mistral Large, a closed-source model accessible through their API platform, has been recognized for its strong performance on commonly used benchmarks, ranking it as the world’s second-ranked model generally available through an API. The model is proficient in code and mathematics and can process documents in multiple languages, including French, German, Spanish, and Italian, in addition to English. Alongside Mistral Large, the company also released Mistral Small, optimized for latency and cost, offering a refined solution between open-weight offerings and the flagship model.
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About the Partnership
The partnership between Microsoft and the AI Company will bring both open and commercial models to Azure, allowing Azure customers to access Mistral’s models through Azure’s model catalog. Microsoft will support the french startup by providing hardware and infrastructure from its cloud computing platform to train and run future systems. This collaboration focuses on supercomputing infrastructure, scale to market, and AI research and development.
Investment Details and European Commission’s Scrutiny
The €15M investment from Microsoft, part of their partnership, adds to the Series A funding round Mistral AI announced in December 2023, valuing the AI company at €2B. However, the European Commission has taken an interest in the investment deal, analyzing its potential impact on competition and innovation in the AI market. This scrutiny follows the startup’s and the French government’s lobbying for looser regulation in the EU’s AI Act.
Vision and Development
Founded by Timothée Lacroix, Guillaume Lample, and Arthur Mensch, Mistral AI aims to develop new models of generative artificial intelligence for companies, combining scientific excellence, an open-source approach, and a socially responsible vision of technology. The company’s partnership with Microsoft and its significant investment mark a pivotal moment in advancing generative AI technologies and their applications.
