Mistral AI partners with Microsoft to develop conversational AI
The company Mistral AI is launching its robot called “Le Chat”, a nod to the ChatGPT from the American Open AI.
The French unicorn also offers a language model, Mistral Large, available on the dematerialized platform of Microsoft, with which the company has established a partnership.
Barely concluded, this agreement is however subject to examination by Brussels.
Barely concluded, the agreement between Mistral AI and Microsoft is the subject of examination by the European Union (Illustrative image).
© Getty Images/Westend61
By: Agnieszka Kumor
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The French start-up valued at $2 billion boasts the performance of its conversational service comparable to that of its great rival GPT-4, released in March 2023 by Open AI.
Once accessed the “Chat”, the user has a choice between three different models including Mistral Large, capable of interacting in English, but also in French, Spanish, German and Italian.
The model is accessible on Microsoft's Azure AI platform.
For Arthur Mensch, the co-founder of Mistral AI, this partnership with Microsoft is only a first step.
It facilitates access to Mistral AI models, particularly for large companies.
The advantage for the Frenchman is that only his models will be available there alongside those of OpenAI.
The next step is to be present on all platforms.
France's place in artificial intelligence
The November 2022 release of
ChatGPT by OpenIA
caused a lot of noise.
Other models followed across the Atlantic, triggering a race against time on the European side.
While they have fallen behind, Europeans are now banking on their innovative start-ups in order to take full advantage of the economic potential represented by artificial intelligence.
Co-founded in April 2023 by Arthur Mensch, Guillaume Lample and Timothée Lacroix (all former Google or Meta) Mistral AI has an ambition to become a European champion with a global vocation in AI.
Its chances are not so slim, compared to its American competitors.
France is particularly positioned in the race for AI in Europe.
While in 2023, Mistral AI succeeded in its first fundraising of 105 million euros, French President Emmanuel Macron expressed the wish that France would become a champion in this area.
His wish is coming true.
According to the
mapping
carried out in March 2023 by France Digitale, nearly 600 AI start-ups have grown in France, including 60% in Île-de-France.
Half of them are already profitable or plan to be within three years.
In February 2024, Google inaugurated its new artificial intelligence research and development center in Paris.
Europeans lack money
Europe also wants to redouble its efforts so as not to be left behind.
The problem is that few European companies can seriously compete with ChatGPT or other models, such as Gemini (Google) or Copilot (Microsoft).
Besides Mistral AI, only the German Aleph Alpha based in Heidelberg is on the rise.
How to avoid the domination of American digital giants?
Arthur Mensch, co-founder of Mistral AI, does not rule out regulation.
“We will have to guarantee that customers have the choice of the AI they want to use, a bit like what was done for web browsers,”
he said in
an interview with the daily
Le Monde
.
Brussels gets involved
Wouldn't there still be an abuse of dominant position on the part of the software giant?
This is what the European Commission is trying to find out.
Microsoft announced that it had invested 15 million euros in Mistral AI.
An investment that should be converted into equity during the next fundraising.
This agreement will be subject to more in-depth examination by the European competition watchdog.
If necessary, an investigation could be opened.
In January, the Commission already announced that it was examining Microsoft's financial support for OpenAI to see whether it complied with the EU Merger Regulation.
“
Competition authorities are concerned about the risk of innovations in the artificial intelligence sector being captured by a small number of already dominant digital giants
,”
it was announced.
Read alsoArtificial intelligence at the heart of the Davos Forum debates
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