Mistral AI, a Paris-based OpenAI rival, closed its $415 million funding round

French startup Mistral AI has successfully closed its Series A funding round, raising €385 million. This values the company at approximately $2 billion. Mistral AI, which aims to become a European champion in generative artificial intelligence, has attracted investments from prominent firms such as Andreessen Horowitz and Lightspeed Venture Partners.

The company has released its first large language model, Mistral 7B, for free download and has been actively shaping discussions around the EU’s AI Act, lobbying for exemptions for foundational models. Mistral AI plans to monetize its models by opening up a developer platform, allowing other companies to use its models via APIs for a fee.