Mistral AI raises €1.7B, led by ASML
2025-09-09 · Publisher : Mistral AI · Domain : Artificial Intelligence
Mistral AI closes a €1.7 billion Series C led by Dutch company ASML, which contributes €1.3 billion. The French start-up is valued at €11.7 billion, a European tie-up between AI and semiconductors.
What changes
- €1.7 billion Series C, €11.7 billion post-money valuation.
- ASML contributes €1.3 billion and holds about 11% on a fully diluted basis.
- Strategic partnership: Mistral models integrated into ASML's products and R&D, joint research.
- Nvidia, Bpifrance, a16z, DST Global, General Catalyst, Index Ventures and Lightspeed also take part.
- Mistral strengthens its independence and its roots in the European industrial value chain.
On September 9, 2025, Mistral AI announces a €1.7 billion Series C led by ASML, the Dutch maker of the lithography machines essential to producing the most advanced chips. The deal values the Paris-based start-up, founded in 2023, at €11.7 billion post-money. ### What happened - **ASML as lead**: the group invests €1.3 billion and becomes a reference shareholder, with about 11% on a fully diluted basis. - **Other investors**: DST Global, Andreessen Horowitz, Bpifrance, General Catalyst, Index Ventures, Lightspeed and Nvidia, all existing shareholders. - **Industrial partnership**: the two companies team up to use Mistral's models across ASML's product portfolio, R&D and operations, and to explore joint research. ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet speaks of a "strategic partnership"; Mistral CEO Arthur Mensch stresses that the investment brings together "two technology leaders operating in the same value chain". ### Key figures | Item | Value | |---|---| | Amount raised | €1.7 billion | | ASML contribution | €1.3 billion | | ASML stake | about 11% (fully diluted) | | Post-money valuation | €11.7 billion | ### Why it matters It is one of the largest rounds in European AI. It pairs Europe's leading model developer with one of the few European industrial companies holding a global monopoly position, and positions Mistral as an AI provider for complex engineering problems, not just a competitor to consumer assistants. For sovereignty-minded clients, it consolidates a European alternative to US providers. ### Caveats The valuation remains far below that of US labs, which raise tens of billions of dollars, and the compute gap remains significant. ### Key takeaways September 2025 anchors Mistral AI in European industry and consolidates its position as Europe's main frontier model provider.
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Tags : IA, Financement, Europe, Mistral, Semi-conducteurs