- ASML invests €1.3 billion in French startup Mistral AI, securing an 11 percent stake
- Partnership will apply AI to ASML’s research development and lithography system operations
- Mistral AI gains funding and a European partner as valuation rises to €11.7 billion
ASML Holding NV has signed a strategic partnership with French startup Mistral AI, looking to combine its chipmaking expertise with Mistral’s artificial intelligence models.
The move is one of the largest collaborations between the semiconductor sector and a European AI firm.
ASML, based in Veldhoven in the Netherlands, is the world’s only supplier of extreme ultraviolet lithography machines, critical for producing the most advanced chips. Its equipment is used by leading semiconductor companies to manufacture processors for smartphones, data centers, and AI accelerators.
€1.3 billion funding
Although ASML occasionally invests in suppliers, it rarely takes direct stakes in startups.
Mistral AI, founded in 2023 and headquartered in Paris, develops LLMs and open-source AI tools. It is viewed as the European alternative to US AI darlings such as OpenAI and Anthropic, and counts Microsoft among its existing investors[1].
As part of the deal, ASML will invest €1.3 billion ($1.5 billion) in Mistral’s Series C funding round, leading the raise and securing an 11 percent stake on a fully diluted basis.
The round will bring Mistral’s valuation to €11.7 billion ($12.6 billion).
The partnership aims to apply AI models across ASML’s research, development, and operations.
The collaboration could improve the performance of ASML’s lithography systems and help chipmakers bring products to market faster.
“The collaboration between Mistral AI and ASML aims to generate clear benefits for ASML customers through innovative products and solutions enabled by AI, and will offer potential for joint research to address future opportunities,” said ASML President and Chief Executive Officer Christophe Fouquet.
“We believe that this strategic partnership with Mistral AI, which goes beyond a traditional vendor-client relationship, is the best way to capture this significant opportunity. We also believe that this collaboration is value enhancing to Mistral AI.”
Arthur Mensch, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Mistral AI, agreed, saying: “We are proud to engage in this long-term partnership with ASML, combining our frontier AI expertise with ASML’s unmatched industrial leadership and most sophisticated engineering capabilities. We believe this partnership will strengthen Mistral AI’s proposition, position, and value in the AI market. Together, we will accelerate technological progress across the global semi-conductor and AI value chain.”
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References
- ^ Microsoft among its existing investors (www.techradar.com)