Samsung in talks for significant investment in Mistral AI funding round

Samsung is reportedly in negotiations to invest up to €1 billion in French artificial intelligence firm Mistral as part of its current Series D fundraising effort. This information comes from sources familiar with the matter cited by the Financial Times.

Mistral is reportedly seeking to raise approximately €3 billion at a valuation of €20 billion. A potential investment from Samsung, a major producer of memory chips essential for AI model training, would be strategically significant given the current high demand for such components.

The French AI startup, founded in 2023 to counter US and Chinese dominance in the field, has already secured over $3.5 billion in debt and equity. Its last equity funding round was a €1.7 billion Series C less than a year ago, led by ASML.

Previously, Swedish investment firm EQT was reported to be in talks to lead or co-lead the round through the EU's Scaleup Europe Fund. Mistral has declined to comment on the reports, and Samsung has not yet responded to requests for comment.