French AI Firm Mistral Expects $1.2 Billion Revenue in 2026
French generative AI company Mistral is expected to exceed one billion euros ($1.2 billion) in revenue this year, according to CEO Arthur Mensch, who spoke Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
That income level would still place Mistral, a prominent AI player in Europe, significantly behind American rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic -- even as profitability continues to be difficult for many in the industry.
"Mensch states that we ought to surpass a billion by year’s end."
He mentioned that Mistral is expected to invest roughly the same amount this year on the advanced computer chips and related infrastructure required to create and operate AI models.
At the same time, Mensch mentioned, "we are currently exploring several opportunities" for acquisitions, refraining from specifying business sectors or regions.
In September, Mistral secured 1.7 billion euros, enlisting Dutch semiconductor leader ASML as a major investor.
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The fundraising set the company's valuation at 11.7 billion euros, placing it prominently in Europe, yet significantly below the hundreds of billions associated with major US firms.
Mistral's European heritage may ultimately be beneficial, as technological sovereignty is becoming a priority for leaders.
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The attention on Europe's reliance on the US has intensified due to a transatlantic clash at this year's Davos event regarding President Donald Trump's intention to seize Greenland.
"It’s vital that we do not rely on a single country or company in essential areas of our economy or society," stated Henna Virkkunen, the European Commission's digital chief, in Davos.
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Mistral AI is a notable generative AI startup located in Paris, established in April 2023 by ex-researchers from Meta and DeepMind. Estimated to exceed US$14 billion by the end of 2025, it focuses on highly effective, open-weight large language models (LLMs), presenting significant competition to OpenAI and Anthropic with both open-source (Apache 2.0) and commercial models designed for businesses.