Have you heard of ASML, the company that could become Mistral AI’s new anchor investor?

According to Reuters, ASML, the Dutch group that holds a global monopoly on extreme ultraviolet lithography equipment, could lead Mistral AI’s latest funding round. The company is reportedly considering investing €1.3 billion in a €1.7 billion round, a deal that would make it the French startup’s largest shareholder and give it a seat on the board.

If confirmed, the transaction would value Mistral at €10 billion pre-money, making it Europe’s most valuable AI company. The round nevertheless remains complex, both because of its size and the delicate balance between the European, US and institutional investors already involved.

ASML: an unlikely but strategic investor

Based in Veldhoven, ASML is the world’s sole supplier of extreme ultraviolet lithography machines, without which TSMC, Intel and Samsung could not manufacture the most advanced chips. Each machine sells for more than €180 million, relies on an industrial ecosystem of over 100 suppliers and represents a critical technological chokepoint in the global semiconductor supply chain.

With €28.3 billion in revenue in 2023 and a market capitalisation exceeding €260 billion, ASML has become a strategic asset closely watched by both the United States and China.

Its investment in Mistral would have a dual significance. The first is industrial: the Dutch company already uses artificial intelligence to optimise the performance of its equipment and could directly benefit from Mistral’s models to accelerate its research and development. The second is geopolitical: bringing together Europe’s semiconductor champion and its leading AI company would represent an unprecedented response to US and Chinese technology giants, embodying a continental alliance built around technological sovereignty.

Mistral AI prepares an exceptional funding round

Founded in 2023 by Arthur Mensch, Timothée Lacroix and Guillaume Lample, Mistral AI quickly became the company most closely associated with Emmanuel Macron’s ambitions for European artificial intelligence. Backed from the outset by Nvidia and several venture capital firms, it reached a valuation of more than €6 billion following its Series B round.

The financing now under discussion, estimated at €1.7 billion, would far exceed European standards and place the startup on a trajectory closer to global leaders such as OpenAI and Anthropic. According to the Financial Times, Mistral had already entered discussions with Mubadala and MGX, an Emirati investment vehicle co-founded with G42, over a potential $1 billion funding round.

These parallel discussions illustrate both the intensity of the negotiations and the determination to keep Mistral within Europe’s strategic orbit.