Mistral, an OpenAI Rival in Europe, in Talks to Raise Capital at a $5 Billion Valuation

Mistral, a Paris-based startup developing artificial intelligence that is open source, has been speaking to investors about raising several hundred million dollars at a valuation of $5 billion, according to a person with direct knowledge. The company, which has just recently begun to generate revenue, in December raised $415 million at a valuation of $2 billion.

The possible back-to-back financing reflects investors’ continued appetite for certain AI startups and the large amount of capital such startups need to compete with Google, OpenAI and other leaders in the field. It’s unclear which investors Mistral has spoken to about a new funding round. Its existing investors include Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Microsoft, which has also backed OpenAI but with far more capital.