French AI company Mistral expects to generate €1 billion ($1.2 billion) in revenue this year, CEO Arthur Mensch announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this year. The Paris-based startup plans to match that revenue figure with equivalent capital expenditure on computer chips and infrastructure.
"We should cross a billion by the end of the year," Mensch told Bloomberg TV in January.
He confirmed the company will likely spend around the same amount on the powerful computer chips and associated infrastructure needed to develop and run AI models.
Mistral, founded in April 2023 by former Meta and DeepMind researchers, reached an €11.7 billion valuation last September after raising €1.7 billion. Dutch chipmaking technology giant ASML led that funding round as a key investor, gaining an 11% stake in the French company.
Even at the projected €1 billion revenue level, Mistral would trail far behind US rivals OpenAI and Anthropic. The company's valuation places it in a leading position in Europe but remains far short of the hundreds of billions attached to American heavyweights.
Mensch also revealed Mistral is exploring acquisition opportunities, though he declined to specify particular sectors or regions.
"We are in the process of looking at a few opportunities," he said during the Davos interview.
The revenue projection comes amid growing concerns about technological sovereignty in Europe. European Commissioner for digital affairs Henna Virkkunen emphasized the importance of independence during the Davos gathering.
"It is extremely important that we are not dependent on one country or one company in critical areas of our economy and society," she stated.
Mensch pushed back against claims that China lags behind the United States in AI development, calling such assertions a "fairy tale." He argued China's open-source technology capabilities are "probably stressing the CEOs in the US," contrasting with other tech leaders at Davos who suggested Chinese companies trail by six months to two years.
The French startup has positioned itself as Europe's primary challenger to US AI dominance. Its chatbot Le Chat reached 1 million downloads within two weeks of its mobile release, grabbing France's top spot for free downloads on the iOS App Store.
Mistral's revenue target represents a significant milestone for European AI development. The company plans to invest heavily in enterprise clients while maintaining its focus on open-source technology development, according to Mensch's statements at Davos.
The substantial investment in Nvidia chips and AI infrastructure reflects the growing competition in the global AI hardware market.
