PARIS – Arthur Mensch, the co-founder of Mistral AI, a promising French artificial intelligence startup, is optimistic about the potential for growth spurred by the recent success of China’s advanced chatbot, DeepSeek. This breakthrough has sent ripples through the tech industry and financial markets, demonstrating that high-quality AI technology can be developed at a fraction of the cost compared to the substantial investments poured into American firms.
As France prepares to host an AI Action Summit this week, featuring global leaders and AI experts, Mensch views the situation as a significant opportunity for Europe to elevate its tech capabilities.
Comparative strengths in AI development
In an insightful interview, Mensch referred to DeepSeek as “a player that is very similar to us,” even dubbing it “China’s Mistral.” He acknowledged that while DeepSeek is better funded, both companies share similar origins and timelines in the AI landscape.
Mistral AI, often seen as the pride of France in the tech arena, has successfully raised over €1 billion since its inception in 2023, achieving a valuation of €6 billion. However, it still finds itself trailing behind AI leaders such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI, which have amassed funding levels that are 10 to 20 times greater.
DeepSeek’s R1 model poses a competitive challenge to leading U.S. models but does so at a significantly reduced cost and leveraging less resource-intensive computing methods compared to those utilized by OpenAI. Mensch noted, “They have made extensive use of the technologies we made available in 2023,” highlighting the machine learning technique known as the sparse Mixture-of-Experts (SMoE), which Mistral AI refined to lower pre-training computing costs.
Building Europe’s AI infrastructure
Mistral AI plans to draw from the innovations presented by DeepSeek, with Mensch expressing admiration for their scientific approach to addressing inefficiencies in AI development: “They have a scientific approach, and close doors by identifying what doesn’t work. Closing these doors means saving time for others. We’ll have things to offer very soon.”
The co-founder is also encouraged by the resurgence of open-source models, which Mistral AI champions. “The world of AI closed up a bit in 2019 under the impetus of OpenAI, but it’s opening up again. We’re convinced that open source is going to win,” he asserted.
Mensch emphasized the necessity of robust computing infrastructure to succeed in the AI race. He noted that the European Union might face challenges in competing with the U.S., where significant investments, such as the recently announced $500 billion plan by President Donald Trump, aim to bolster American dominance in AI.
However, Mistral AI is set to make strides with the upcoming launch of its data center, Eclairion, located on the Saclay plateau in the Paris region. This facility, supported by €300 million from HPC Capital and €3 million from the Île-de-France region, is expected to enhance Mistral AI’s computing capabilities, augmented by graphics processing units from Nvidia and additional support from Microsoft. “We chose France because it offers low-carbon, highly competitive electricity. We’re also doing it out of conviction,” Mensch stated.
As the French government continues to back Mistral AI with various contracts, President Emmanuel Macron recently celebrated the launch of the startup’s Le Chat chatbot, proclaiming, “vive Le Chat!” Furthermore, partnerships with French companies like Veolia and Iliad underscore a growing recognition of the importance of supporting European tech solutions.
Mensch remarked on the increasing awareness among public and private sectors that collaborating with Europe’s industrial landscape is crucial for progress, echoing Macron’s call to prioritize European innovation.
Amidst international dynamics, Mensch views this week’s AI summit as pivotal, especially with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi co-chairing the event. He believes it signifies that “there is a world outside the U.S. and China” that must engage with artificial intelligence, positioning Europe as a potential leader in the global AI dialogue.
With France urging the European Commission to unveil a comprehensive innovation plan during the summit, Mensch hopes this will provide Europe the opportunity to showcase its technological capabilities, countering narratives of decline. “We’ve heard a lot from commentators, Americans in fact, that Europe is in technological decline. I don’t think that’s true,” he asserted.