French LLM-maker Mistral is targeting a $10bn valuation in its next funding round as it looks to keep pace with competitors in the US and China.
Since launching in 2023, Mistral has been held up as Europe’s leading LLM (large language model) developer, seen by some as a legitimate challenger to industry leader OpenAI. Last summer it raised €600m in funding from big-name backers such as DST Global and General Catalyst, reaching a valuation of €5.8bn.
Last month it was reported the company was in talks to raise as much as $1bn from several investors, including Abu Dhabi fund MGX. As part of that round it’s seeking a $10bn valuation, people familiar with the process told the Financial Times.
That money would be used to further the commercial rollout of Mistral’s Le Chat chatbot and improve its LLMs, those same people told the FT, adding that fundraising talks have not been finalised and the validation and amount could still change.
Mistral has sought to expand its offering beyond building LLMs, with Sifted revealing earlier this year the company had started exploring its tech’s potential military applications.
Industry insiders have also speculated that the company could be the target of an acquisition by Apple. Cofounder and CEO Arthur Mensch previously told Bloomberg the company was ‘not for sale’ and plans to IPO.
Sifted reached out to Mistral for comment.
