Dutch chip-equipment giant ASML led a €1.7 billion (about $2 billion) funding round in French startup Mistral AI, taking a roughly 11% stake to become the company's largest shareholder. The round values Europe's flagship AI lab at around €11.7 billion (about $14 billion).
The deal links Europe's most valuable tech company — ASML, the sole maker of the advanced EUV lithography machines that print the world's leading-edge chips — to the continent's top AI developer. Mistral, founded in 2023, competes with OpenAI and Anthropic and is known for its open-weight models.
Why it matters: it is one of the largest AI funding rounds in European history and an explicit bid for technological sovereignty, aimed at reducing the region's dependence on U.S. AI giants.