Dutch chip equipment giant ASML has agreed to invest €1.3bn in French artificial intelligence start-up Mistral, forging an alliance between two of Europe’s leading technology companies at a time of heightened concern over reliance on US Big Tech groups.
Mistral is raising a total of €1.7bn in its latest round of funding, the company said on Tuesday, valuing the two-year-old start-up at nearly €12bn, including the new funds raised.
Christophe Fouquet, ASML chief executive, said the decision to invest such a large sum in Mistral, becoming its biggest shareholder, reflected a view that AI will be a “strategic technology” and a desire to demonstrate “long-term trust”.