France’s Mistral Debuts New Models to Keep Pace in AI Race

Mistral AI, Europe’s leading artificial intelligence startup, released its next generation of models pitched as more adaptable than alternatives from larger rivals OpenAI and Google.

The Paris-based company launched Mistral 3, a family of open-source models designed to power chatbots and other AI services in multiple languages, including on mobile devices with limited network connections, it said in a statement on Tuesday.

“The next wave of AI won’t be defined by sheer scale, but by ubiquity — by models small enough to run on a drone, in a car, in robots, on a phone or a computer laptop,” Mistral wrote in the statement.

The new models come as the rivalry between major AI developers heats up, powered by hundreds of billions of dollars of investment into the technology. Google released its Gemini 3 model last month, which won praise for its reasoning and coding capabilities. Following its release, OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman declared “code red” to speed up development at ChatGPT, The Information reported Tuesday. In the open-source space, Mistral also competes with Chinese players like DeepSeek, which recently unveiled new versions of an experimental AI model focused on combining reasoning and autonomous execution.

Mistral is Europe’s most valuable AI startup, hitting a €11.7 billion ($13.6 billion) valuation in September after an investment from Dutch chip-making equipment firm ASML Holding NV.

Mistral is seeking to differentiate itself by focusing on serving big corporate groups. It has announced deals in recent months with large European companies, including BNP Paribas SA and Stellantis NV. Mistral will work with HSBC Holdings Plc to develop tools for the bank’s employees for tasks ranging from financial analysis to translation, the lender said in a statement on Monday.