Mistral AI draws inspiration from China's chatbot success to boost European AI innovation

Mistral AI, a French startup, aims to compete in the global AI market, inspired by China's success with its chatbot DeepSeek. Mistral has raised over €1 billion since its 2023 launch, valuing the company at €6 billion. Despite significant funding, Mistral lags behind U.S. leaders like OpenAI and Anthropic, which have raised much larger amounts. DeepSeek's R1 model is seen as a strong competitor, using fewer resources than OpenAI's technology. Mistral co-founder Mensch noted that DeepSeek utilizes techniques developed by Mistral, highlighting the potential for European innovation in AI.