Abu Dhabi’s technology investment company, MGX, is reportedly in talks to lead a new funding round of up to $1 billion for the leading French AI startup, Mistral. If completed, the deal would value Mistral at $10 billion and represent a major strategic investment for Abu Dhabi in the global AI race.
By the Numbers
- $1 Billion: The potential size of the new funding round.
- $10 Billion: The new target valuation for Mistral.
- $6.7 Billion: Mistral’s previous valuation.
A Strategic Move to Back a Global AI Champion
This potential investment is a key part of Abu Dhabi’s strategy to become a global leader in artificial intelligence. By backing Mistral, which is widely considered Europe’s most promising challenger to Silicon Valley’s AI giants, MGX is securing a significant stake in a non-Chinese, geopolitically neutral AI powerhouse. This move aligns with the UAE’s National AI Strategy 2031 and diversifies its portfolio, which already includes investments in other major AI players like OpenAI.
The Target: Europe’s Leading AI Innovator
Founded in 2023, Mistral has quickly established itself as a leader in developing both open-source and proprietary large language models (LLMs). Its chatbot, Le Chat, is seen as a major European competitor to US and Chinese rivals. The new capital is expected to fuel the commercial rollout of its products and support the continued development of its advanced AI models.
About the Partners
- MGX: An Abu Dhabi-based investment company established to accelerate the development and adoption of artificial intelligence and advanced technology. Chaired by H.H. Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, it leverages the expertise of national champions like Mubadala and G42 to make strategic global investments.
- Mistral: A Paris-based artificial intelligence startup founded by veterans from Meta and Google. It has become Europe’s largest AI startup, with a mission to develop powerful and open AI models.
Looking Ahead
While the deal has not yet been finalized, a successful investment would significantly strengthen the strategic ties between the UAE and France in the technology sector. It would also provide Mistral with the capital needed to compete on a global scale and support its joint project with MGX and Nvidia to build a large-scale AI data center in Europe, furthering the continent’s push for AI sovereignty.
Source: AGBI
