By French artificial intelligence startup Mistral AI has raised €1.7 billion ($2 billion) in a funding round led by Dutch chip equipment maker ASML, the companies said on Tuesday.
The investment makes Mistral the most valuable AI company in Europe at €11.7 billion.
ASML contributed €1.3 billion of the total financing, taking an 11% stake in the Paris-based company and gaining a seat on its strategic committee.
The deal also cements ASML as Mistral’s main shareholder, underscoring the Dutch group’s push to expand the role of artificial intelligence in the semiconductor industry.
ASML deepens AI ties with strategic partnership
Alongside the capital infusion, ASML and Mistral AI have entered into a strategic partnership.
Under the agreement, ASML will integrate Mistral’s AI models across its semiconductor manufacturing equipment portfolio, research, development, and operations.
Roger Dassen, ASML’s chief financial officer, will represent the company on Mistral’s strategic committee.
The move aligns with ASML’s strategy to harness AI in boosting the efficiency and precision of chipmaking tools, at a time when demand for advanced semiconductors is surging globally.
The backing of Europe’s most valuable technology company puts Mistral in a stronger position to challenge US heavyweights such as OpenAI, Meta, and Google in the fast-evolving field of generative AI.
Growing roster of global investors
ASML is not the only high-profile backer of Mistral. Other participants in the round include DST Global, Andreessen Horowitz, Bpifrance, General Catalyst, Index Ventures, Lightspeed, and NVIDIA.
Since its founding in 2023, Mistral has rapidly emerged as Europe’s flagship AI contender.
The company made headlines in June 2023 when it raised a record $112 million seed round — the largest ever for a European startup — valuing it at $260 million before its first product release.
Six months later, it closed a €385 million Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz, at a valuation of $2 billion.
Subsequent raises included a $16.3 million convertible investment from Microsoft in early 2024, a €600 million mix of equity and debt in June 2024 at a $6 billion valuation, and now the latest blockbuster Series C.
Products and market impact
Mistral AI promotes its open source approach to generative AI, contrasting with the more closed strategies of US rivals.
Its chatbot, Le Chat, launched in 2024 and quickly attracted over 1 million downloads within two weeks, topping France’s iOS free app rankings.
In July 2025, Mistral rolled out significant upgrades to Le Chat, including a deep research mode, native multilingual reasoning, advanced image editing, and project management features.
In September 2025, it added Memories, allowing the chatbot to recall prior conversations — a capability that brings it closer to the leading full-stack AI assistants.
With ASML’s investment and strategic tie-up, Mistral is now positioned at the heart of Europe’s efforts to build AI champions capable of competing on a global scale.
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