Mistral secures €3 billion Series D for sovereign AI push
French AI firm Mistral has raised €3 billion in a Series D funding round, part of a broader €3.9 billion in European tech deals.
French artificial intelligence company Mistral has secured €3 billion in a Series D funding round. This major investment is intended to push its sovereign AI initiative into a new phase of development.
According to a funding roundup from Tech.eu, this deal was the standout in a period that saw 70 European tech funding deals worth a combined €3.9 billion. The report also tracked over five exits, mergers, and acquisition transactions.
Notable funding rounds
Beyond Mistral's landmark raise, other significant funding rounds included German space firm The Exploration Company, which raised $450 million in a Series C to scale reusable space transport. French company Positive, formerly known as Sarbacane, completed a €106 million refinancing to fund acquisitions.
| Company | Country | Round | Amount | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mistral | France | Series D | €3B | Push sovereign AI into next phase |
| The Exploration Company | Germany | Series C | $450M | Scale reusable space transport |
| Positive (formerly Sarbacane) | France | Refinancing | €106M | Acquire companies |
Acquisitions and investor moves
The period also featured noteworthy mergers and acquisitions. Italian firm Lexroom made its first acquisitions by buying Query Juriste and Praven Intelekt. In a major sustainability deal, French platform Greenly acquired Swedish climate data startup Normative for 700 million SEK. In a significant AI-related move, Italian app developer Bending Spoons entered a definitive agreement to acquire AI innovation workspace Miro for €1.7 billion.
Investor activity was strong. Claret Capital Partners exceeded its target by closing a €575 million growth debt fund for European innovators. Molten Ventures, a backer of Revolut, hit a £175 million first close for a new growth fund. The Clean Growth Fund II reached £81.5 million at its second close, working towards a £150 million target. The European Investment Fund backed a Nordic Foodtech VC with €30 million to scale Europe's agrifood deeptech sector.
Broader market context and warnings
The funding news arrives amid stark warnings from Europe's tech leaders. A separate item in the report highlights a call that Europe has '100 days to save EU Inc,' with leaders cautioning against watering down a landmark reform. Research from Antler reportedly reveals that Europe's ongoing unicorn boom is masking a growing early-stage funding crisis.
Other news included a statement from an executive at a top UK chip startup, who claimed, 'We have a chance to build Britain’s first one trillion dollar company.' Separately, the boss of a San Francisco-based AI coding startup mocked the 'monoculture' of Silicon Valley as the company opened a London office.
The report concluded by listing several smaller European tech startups to watch, including Italian AI security firm Bynario, which raised €2.1 million, and German company sci2sci, which secured €1.2 million to build trusted AI infrastructure for regulated industries.
