Samsung is in talks to invest hundreds of millions of euros in Mistral, the French AI startup, as part of a new funding round that could value the company at roughly €20 billion ($22.81 billion). According to Reuters, citing a Financial Times report, the South Korean electronics giant could put in around €1 billion. Swedish investment firm EQT’s Scaleup Europe Fund is also said to be in talks to join the round.
Neither Samsung nor Mistral confirmed the deal at the time of reporting. Samsung did not respond to a request for comment, and Mistral declined to comment. Reuters said it could not independently verify the report.
The timing is notable. Just a day before this report surfaced, Microsoft agreed to spend billions of dollars on Mistral’s computing infrastructure in Europe, a deal that also expands distribution of Mistral’s technology through Microsoft’s cloud and software platforms. That agreement, combined with Samsung’s potential investment, signals that Mistral is rapidly building a serious coalition of backers from both sides of the Atlantic.
Mistral has spent the past year positioning itself as Europe’s answer to American AI giants. It supplies the French military and has built a reputation as a credible alternative to U.S.-based models. That positioning matters now more than ever. Governments across Europe are actively pushing for greater technological independence, and recent U.S. policy decisions have only added urgency to that effort. Last month, the U.S. paused foreign access to two advanced AI models from San Francisco-based Anthropic, a move that rattled European governments counting on access to frontier AI.
The broader trend here is hard to ignore. Europe has been watching the AI race from the sidelines for years, largely dependent on U.S. infrastructure and models. Mistral is one of the few credible attempts to change that. A €20 billion valuation would be a major step up for the company, though it still trails American peers by a wide margin. Anthropic, for comparison, was valued at $61.5 billion in its last major funding round.
For Samsung, this would fit into a wider push the company flagged earlier this year. In April, Samsung said it would look at investments and acquisitions to speed up development in areas like robotics, while also partnering with local companies on technology. An investment in Mistral would extend that strategy into AI infrastructure and foundation models, giving Samsung a foothold in European AI at a moment when that market is becoming increasingly strategic.
Key details from the reported deal:
- Samsung could invest approximately €1 billion in the new round
- The round would value Mistral at around €20 billion
- EQT’s Scaleup Europe Fund is also in talks to participate
- The news follows Microsoft’s separate infrastructure deal with Mistral announced the day before
Whether or not this round closes as reported, the direction of travel is clear. Money is flowing into European AI, and Mistral is at the center of it.
