Mistral AI, a Paris-based artificial intelligence startup, has recently raised an impressive €600 million in funding, propelling its valuation to $6 billion. This funding round is significant as it marks the largest for a startup developing large-scale general-purpose AI models outside of Silicon Valley. The influx of capital not only boosts Mistral AI’s resources but also positions the French company to compete with the leading AI companies in Silicon Valley. With existing backers General Catalyst and Lightspeed Venture Partners participating in this Series B funding round, Mistral AI is poised for accelerated growth and global expansion.
The co-founder and CEO of Mistral AI, Arthur Mensch, expressed his gratitude for the support received from both new and existing investors. This new funding round will enable the company to advance its roadmap and make frontier AI accessible to a wider audience. Devendra Chaplot, a researcher at Mistral AI, echoed Mensch’s enthusiasm, highlighting the company’s remarkable growth in valuation over the past year. Founded by Meta and Google’s DeepMind alumni in April 2023, Mistral AI aims to develop cutting-edge AI models that rival the best-performing models in the industry, including OpenAI’s GPT-4 and Meta’s Llama 3.
Mistral AI has already released several models, such as Mistral 7B, Mistral 8x7B, and Mistral 8x22B, under an open-source Apache 2.0 license. These models are freely accessible for use and reproduction, provided proper attribution is given. However, the company’s most advanced offerings, like Mistral Large, are proprietary and intended to be repackaged as API-first products. Companies can access Mistral Large through a paid API service based on their usage needs. Additionally, Mistral AI offers a free chat assistant called Le Chat and a generative AI model for coding named Codestral, albeit with a restrictive license.
In June 2023, Mistral AI secured €105 million in funding from a founding round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, a remarkable achievement considering the company’s recent inception. The recognition and support received from investors reflect the industry’s bullish outlook on the growth potential of AI startups like Mistral AI. According to a survey by McKinsey, 67% of respondents anticipate increased investment in AI technologies within the next three years. While the benefits of generative AI are becoming more apparent, businesses are also becoming increasingly aware of the diverse risks associated with the technology, ranging from data management challenges to model management issues.
Despite the recognized risks, KPMG experts believe that blockchain technology could offer a solution to companies dealing with IP protection and infringement in the context of generative AI. By leveraging blockchain technology to create secure and immutable records of intellectual property, companies can track and manage their IP effectively, ensuring proper attribution and potentially reducing risks of misappropriation. Storing IP as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) with embedded smart contracts on a blockchain could help prevent unauthorized use of proprietary data and promote proper credit and compensation practices. With the right strategies in place, companies can harness the benefits of AI while mitigating the inherent risks associated with IP protection and legal challenges.
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