Microsoft Expands AI Reach with Mistral Investment in Europe
Microsoft has formed a partnership with French startup Mistral AI to enhance its artificial intelligence offerings and potentially reduce its dependence on OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT. The collaboration includes a minority investment from Microsoft in Mistral AI, although the specific financial terms were not disclosed. Mistral AI is being recognized by Microsoft for its innovation in creating more efficient and cost-effective AI systems.
Through this deal, Mistral's large language model, dubbed Mistral Large, will be made available on Microsoft's Azure cloud computing platform, marking it as the second company after OpenAI to have its language models hosted on Azure. The partnership also includes the introduction of a new chatbot from Mistral AI named Le Chat, which experienced a surge in popularity upon release, leading to temporary service interruptions due to high demand.
The partnership, which extends over multiple years and is reportedly valued at €2 billion, reflects Microsoft's strategic commitment to European technology and its aim to broaden its AI model offerings. The initiative is expected to foster the development and deployment of next-generation large language models and help Mistral AI expand its commercial opportunities and global market reach.
