Softbank Considers Investing in Mistral AI

SoftBank of Japan is considering an investment in Mistral AI, a French artificial intelligence startup. The investment could value the company at over $2 billion.

Mistral AI, established by veterans of Meta and Google, aims to challenge U.S. dominance in artificial intelligence. The startup received a substantial $415 million funding round in December. 

SoftBank’s potential investment follows Microsoft integrating the startup’s latest model into its Azure cloud services. This move drew the attention of the European Commission, which scrutinizes the Microsoft-Mistral partnership as part of a broader examination of Big Tech’s collaborations with AI firms.

SoftBank, led by Masayoshi Son, has been vocal about the transformative potential of artificial general intelligence (AGI), predicting it could surpass human intelligence tenfold by the end of this decade. 

The company’s interest in Mistral AI underscores the growing significance of smaller, more efficient AI models like Mistral. 

For more detailed information, read the original article on PYMNTS.