Samsung Joins Mistral AI's Funding Round

Mistral AI, a French startup specializing in generative artificial intelligence, announced a €3 billion funding round—the largest ever raised by a European technology company. Led by Samsung Electronics, alongside the Scaleup Europe Fund managed by EQT and long-time investor PSG Equity, this round values Mistral AI at more than €21 billion.

The new funding will enable Mistral AI to accelerate its research into next-generation artificial intelligence models, increase its computing capacity, and expand its infrastructure and international operations. The company, which currently operates in some 20 countries and supports more than 125 companies in their AI projects, aims to strengthen its position among the global leaders in the sector.

Two of the founders, graduates of L'X

This new milestone is part of the journey of a company with close ties to the French scientific and entrepreneurial ecosystem. Mistral AI was founded in 2023 by Arthur Mensch and Guillaume Lample, both graduates of École Polytechnique (Class of 2011), and by Timothée Lacroix, a former student of the École Normale Supérieure.

Arthur Mensch, now CEO of Mistral AI, and Guillaume Lample both studied at École Polytechnique before pursuing careers in artificial intelligence research. Their entrepreneurial journey illustrates the ability of French scientific to foster the emergence of technology companies capable of competing at the highest international level.

In early 2026, Arthur Mensch came back at École Polytechnique to speak with students about the implications of AI and entrepreneurship.

Since its founding, Mistral AI has been committed to offering a different approach to artificial intelligence, based in particular on open-weight models and full control over the entire technology chain. This approach aims to give companies and institutions greater control over their data, models, and infrastructure.

Building Trustworthy European AI

For Mistral AI, the challenge goes beyond the performance of the models alone. The company aims to contribute to the development of a European artificial intelligence capability, enabling organizations to retain control over their data, infrastructure, and the technologies they deploy.

This ambition for technological sovereignty goes hand in hand with the development of a European computing infrastructure and a suite of services that now covers the entire chain, from model research to their deployment in businesses and institutions. The new round of funding is intended, in particular, to support this strategy and enable Mistral AI to continue developing the computing capabilities needed to train increasingly powerful models.

Following ASML’s investment in the company in 2025, this new initiative, led by Samsung Electronics, brings together European and international technology and financial players to support the development of Mistral AI. It underscores the growing appeal of a company that aims to contribute, from France and Europe, to the development of the next generations of artificial intelligence.