Samsung reportedly in talks to back Mistral at €20bn valuation
The Financial Times reports that Samsung could invest hundreds of millions of euros in France’s AI champion, Mistral, as part of a fundraising round valuing the startup at approximately €20 billion. While the report suggests a "hundreds of millions" euro investment from Samsung, several summaries have rounded this figure to around €1 billion.
Key Details:
- Mistral is raising around €3 billion, nearly doubling its valuation from less than a year ago.
- A reported Microsoft deal valued Mistral at €11.7 billion.
- Neither Samsung nor Mistral has confirmed the discussions.
- Mistral’s September Series C raised €1.7 billion at an €11.7 billion valuation with ASML as the largest shareholder.
- EQT’s Scaleup Europe fund is also circling the new round, according to reports.
- If closed at reported terms, Mistral’s total funding would reach approximately €6.5 billion.
Motivations:
- For Samsung, investing in Mistral aligns with its interest in AI and its memory business benefits from the AI build-out.
- For Mistral, securing a stake from a strategic investor like Samsung could offer access to custom silicon technology while reducing reliance on Nvidia.
The broader European AI landscape continues to demonstrate impressive growth, as evidenced by Mistral’s rapid valuation climbs and product launches.