Mistral AI, the French company behind Le Chat and several foundational models, is considered one of France’s most promising tech startups, rivaling OpenAI in terms of its potential. Despite a $6 billion valuation, its global market share remains relatively low.
The recent launch of Le Chat on mobile app stores generated significant attention, particularly in France, with French President Emmanuel Macron urging citizens to download the chat assistant over OpenAI’s ChatGPT. This surge in popularity may be encouraging for Mistral AI, but it still faces challenges in competing with OpenAI while maintaining its self-definition as “the world’s greenest and leading independent AI lab.”
Mistral AI has raised significant funding since its creation in 2023, aiming to make frontier AI accessible to everyone. Its chat assistant Le Chat is now available on iOS and Android, reaching 1 million downloads within two weeks of its mobile release.
The company monetizes its models through APIs with usage-based pricing, as well as licensing them to enterprises. Mistral AI also generates revenue from strategic partnerships with Microsoft, Agence France-Presse, IBM, Orange, and others.
As of February 2025, the startup has raised around €1 billion in capital, approximately $1.04 billion at the current exchange rate. Its valuation stands at nearly $6 billion, with investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, Cisco, and Nvidia participating in its funding rounds.
Mistral AI’s CEO, Rodolphe Saadé, stated that the company is “not for sale,” with an initial public offering (IPO) being the plan. However, to justify its valuation, Mistral AI needs to scale its revenue, potentially justifying persistent acquisition rumors.
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/23/what-is-mistral-ai-everything-to-know-about-the-openai-competitor