Mistral AI Raises $640M in Series B Funding

Paris-based AI startup Mistral AI raised $640 million in its Series B funding round. General Catalyst led the round, with other investors including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, Nvidia, Samsung Venture Investment Corporation, and Salesforce Ventures. The funding mix included $500 million in equity and $140 million in debt. The company is now valued at $6 billion.

Mistral AI, founded in mid-2023, focuses on foundational AI models. The company previously raised $112 million in a seed round. Its open-source models, such as Mistral 7B and Mistral 8x7B, are released under the Apache 2.0 license. The company’s advanced proprietary models, like Mistral Large, are available through a paid API. Codestral, their generative AI model for code, has a restrictive license.

Mistral AI’s co-founders are former Meta and DeepMind employees. The company plans to use the new funding to increase computing capacity, recruit more employees, and expand internationally, especially in the U.S.

CEO Arthur Mensch stated that this funding ensures the company’s continued independence. Microsoft, a minor shareholder, partners with Mistral AI to offer its models through Microsoft Azure.