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ASML invests $1.5B in French AI startup
Mistral, forming European tech alliance
[September 10, 2025]
LONDON (AP) — ASML, a leading Dutch maker of chipmaking gear, is
investing 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) into French artificial
intelligence startup Mistral AI, the two said on Tuesday, announcing a
partnership between two of Europe's top technology companies.
ASML Holding, based in Veldhoven, Netherlands, holds an important role
in the global tech industry because it makes equipment used to
manufacture semiconductors, including the most advanced microchips used
for cutting-edge AI systems. |
The logo of ASML, a leading maker of semiconductor production equipment,
hangs on the head office in Veldhoven, Netherlands, on Jan. 30, 2023.
(AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File) |
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Mistral was founded two years ago in Paris by former researchers
at Google DeepMind and Meta Platforms and quickly became a
European tech darling.
The partnership underscores Europe's efforts to reduce exposure
to American technology. President Donald Trump's increasingly
hostile attitude to European Union tech regulations has fueled
debate about whether the continent is too dependent on services
provided by U.S. tech companies such as cloud computing and
mobile operating systems.
Mistral makes the Le Chat chatbot but it has struggled to keep
up with American AI companies like ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, and
Chinese rivals like DeepSeek.
ASML's chipmaking equipment can cost hundreds of millions of
dollars but the U.S. government has blocked it from selling its
most advanced machines to China.
The deal gives ASML an 11% stake in Mistral, and values the
startup at about 11.7 billion euros. The 1.3 billion euro
investment is part of a larger funding round worth 1.7 billion
euros, which also involves venture capital firms and chipmaker
Nvidia.
Mistral CEO Arthur Mensch said in a press release that the
alliance combines Mistral's “frontier AI expertise with ASML’s
unmatched industrial leadership and most sophisticated
engineering capabilities."
“Together, we will accelerate technological progress across the
global semiconductor and AI value chain," Mensch said.
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