Mistral Emerges as Last, Best Hope for European AI Contender (2)

ASML Holdings NV’s €1.3 billion investment in Mistral gives the French startup a valuable dose of capital and credibility as it seeks to build an artificial-intelligence champion for Europe. Yet Mistral still has to prove it can survive in an industry dominated by much larger American and Chinese competitors.

The Paris-based company’s valuation will rise to €11.7 billion as part of the ASML-led funding round, putting it among the most valuable private companies in Europe just two and a half years after its founding. Mistral is the only firm on the continent building the kind of large-language model that competes with ...