Mistral AI yesterday announced a Series C funding round of €1.7 billion at an €11.7 billion post-money valuation, led by semiconductor equipment manufacturer ASML Holding NV.
The funding round includes participation from existing investors DST Global, Andreessen Horowitz, Bpifrance, General Catalyst, Index Ventures, Lightspeed and NVIDIA. ASML's leadership role establishes a strategic partnership focused on developing AI-enabled products and solutions for semiconductor manufacturing customers.
"ASML is proud to enter a strategic partnership with Mistral AI, and to be lead investor in this funding round. 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 CEO Christophe Fouquet.
The partnership represents convergence between AI development and semiconductor manufacturing, with both companies operating within the same technology value chain. Mistral AI plans to develop custom decentralised frontier AI solutions targeting complex engineering and industrial problems, providing enterprises, public sectors, and industries with competitive advantages through specialised models and high-performance compute infrastructure.
"This investment brings together two technology leaders operating in the same value chain. We have the ambition to help ASML and its numerous partners solve current and future engineering challenges through AI, and ultimately to advance the full semiconductor and AI value chain," said Mistral AI CEO Arthur Mensch.
The funding round reinforces Mistral AI's independence while supporting continued development of tailored AI solutions for corporate and industrial applications.
The ASML partnership positions Mistral AI to address sophisticated manufacturing challenges in semiconductor production, where precision and efficiency improvements can generate significant value. The strategic alignment between AI capabilities and semiconductor equipment manufacturing creates opportunities for integrated solutions across the technology value chain.
Mistral AI's focus on custom decentralised frontier AI solutions differentiates its approach from general-purpose AI platforms, targeting specific industrial applications where specialised models can deliver superior performance. The €11.7 billion valuation reflects investor confidence in enterprise-focused AI development, particularly in strategic industries requiring advanced technological solutions. The partnership model with ASML demonstrates how AI companies can create value through deep industry collaboration rather than broad horizontal expansion.