In the world of artificial intelligence, we Europeans have never been on the crest of a wave. But today, thanks to Mistral AI, we finally have something to be proud of.
We have already spoken several times about this French startup, founded in Paris just two years ago by brilliant minds such as Arthur Mensch (former DeepMind researcher), Timothée Lacroix and Guillaume Lample (former Meta).

Mistral: the AI Cinderella who dreams herself a queen

Mistral has already made its mark with language models that challenge those of the American and Chinese giants. Its Le Chat model, which is fast, precise and accessible, is considered by many to be a work of art.
To this the company adds an ambitious philosophy: to create a European, open, transparent and independent AI. Collaborations with giants such as Nvidia, IBM and Microsoft, and partnerships with bodies such as the French army and the AFP agency, show that the bet is starting to pay off.

With a valuation in excess of EUR 10 billion in 2025, Mistral has in fact become the symbol of a Europe in search of technological sovereignty: a possible alternative to OpenAI, Google and Anthropic, dominated by the capital and interests of rival powers.

But it is an alternative that, precisely because it is so promising, is always fragile and hanging by a thread.

ASML: the invisible pillar of the digital revolution

This is where ASML, the Dutch giant that dominates the semiconductor market, comes in. Based in Veldhoven, ASML produces lithography machines that are indispensable for manufacturing the world’s most advanced chips.
Without them, to be clear, there would be no smartphones that we use every day, nor the data centres that power the digital economy.

ASML is therefore a silent but powerful company with a staggering turnover and a technology that is the beating heart of global innovation.
Its customers include leading semiconductor manufacturers such as TSMC, Intel and Samsung. ASML is therefore an indispensable link in the global electronics and artificial intelligence value chain: its role is not just that of an equipment supplier, but an enabler of innovation in almost every high-tech sector.

In early September 2025, Mistral AI closed a EUR 1.7 billion financing round, which raised its pre-money valuation to EUR 10 billion. On this occasion, the Dutch semiconductor giant became its largest shareholder , investing EUR 1.3 billion and obtaining a seat on the board of directors.

This investment not only strengthens Mistral AI’s financial position, but also marks an acceleration in the European strategy for technology autonomy, especially in an area like AI, where dependence on US and Chinese players is considered a strategic risk.

The deal was negotiated with the backing of Bank of America and saw the participation of other smaller investors, including sovereign wealth funds from Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. With this deal, ASML positions itself as a key player in the European AI ecosystem, while Mistral AI obtains the necessary resources to scale up its infrastructure and compete in the global arena.

Apple’s interest and European reactions

The offer could not have come at a better time. In previous months, Mistral AI had been at the centre of Apple’s appetites, which had been considering an acquisition to boost its AI capabilities, especially in view of the expiry of the agreement with Google for the default search engine on the iPhone.

The possibility of a sale to an American multinational had triggered concerned reactions in Europe.
Politicians such as French President Emmanuel Macron had stressed the importance of keeping Mistral AI under European control, to prevent the only continental company capable of competing with OpenAI from ending up in the hands of a US giant.

Technological sovereignty has become a top priority for the European Union, which sees Mistral AI as a strategic asset for its competitiveness and independence.

The potential of fusion

The integration between ASML and Mistral AI could generate unique synergies. In particular,

• Optimised production: ASML could use Mistral AI models to improve the efficiency of its lithographic machines, reducing development time and operating costs.
  
• New patents: Mistral’s AI could be used to develop predictive analysis and intelligent maintenance systems, which are crucial for the production of increasingly complex chips.
  
• Competitive advantage: The combination of ASML’s hardware and Mistral’s software could lead to integrated solutions for customers, such as TSMC or Intel, seeking to optimise their production processes.
  
• European sovereignty: The agreement strengthens Europe’s position in the AI race, reducing dependence on non-European suppliers and creating an autonomous technology ecosystem.

This fusion could also accelerate the development of AI applications in critical sectors such as defence, healthcare and energy, where the combination of advanced chips and sophisticated language models is yielding increasingly encouraging results.

Meanwhile, Jupiter arrives

While Mistral and ASML chart the course, Europe is building its defences. Jupiter, inaugurated in Germany on 5 September 2025, is Europe’s first exascale supercomputer, capable of performing over a quintillion operations per second. As computing power, it is the fourth in the world, and the first three are all American (so much for the prejudice that we are always behind China).

Located in Jülich in Westphalia, it is designed to support scientific research and training of large-scale AI models, making it a key infrastructure for the European ecosystem.
The supercomputer in fact does not stand alone, but is also the heart of the Jupiter AI Factory, a hub dedicated to the development of artificial intelligence, which will offer computational resources to European start-ups.
This project, together with other initiatives such as theAI Campus in Paris and the partnerships between Mistral AI, Nvidia and Bpifrance, therefore9 marks a turning point for Europe, which is trying to close the gap with the United States and China in the AI race.

Conclusion: a reopening of the game

ASML’s investment in Mistral AI is a strong signal: Europe is mobilising its best resources in order not to fall behind in the technological revolution.

The future of artificial intelligence is not already written: it is up to us to decide whether Europe will remain a spectator or try to change the rules of the game.

*The author of this article is a chatbot from Mistral.