French artificial intelligence startup Mistral announced on Tuesday that it has completed a new financing round of 3 billion euros (approximately 3.5 billion US dollars). The round was led by South Korean chipmaking giant Samsung, propelling the company's post-investment valuation to exceed 21 billion euros. The funding round also saw participation from the EU-backed Scaleup Europe Fund, which is managed by EQT Group, alongside existing investor PSG Equity.

Just a year ago, Mistral's valuation stood at 11.7 billion euros following a funding round led by Dutch semiconductor equipment manufacturer ASML. Chief Executive Officer Arthur Mensch stated in an interview on Tuesday that the fresh capital would be directed toward expanding infrastructure, including building out proprietary data centers, while simultaneously offering computing power rental services to external clients.

Mensch elaborated on the company's strategic direction, saying that the long-term plan is to rely entirely on self-built computing capacity. He noted this implies approximately 100% growth in proprietary computing scale over the next five years. The CEO added that the company will train larger and faster models as part of this expansion.

The Paris-based enterprise develops artificial intelligence models and is actively broadening its proprietary data center footprint. Unlike OpenAI and Anthropic, Mistral intends to collaborate closely with various businesses to craft customized AI tools tailored to enterprise needs, seamlessly integrating them into corporate operations.

Mistral is currently applying its AI technology to the manufacturing processes of ASML in the Netherlands. Mensch indicated that the company will also pursue cooperation with Samsung in overlapping domains. Earlier this year, Mensch projected that Mistral's annual recurring revenue would surpass the 1 billion US dollar threshold in 2024.

Regarding the new financing round and collaborative projects, he expressed confidence that if current growth momentum continues, revenue could exceed that target. He declined to provide an updated revenue forecast. Mensch concluded by stating that the company is highly confident this funding round will accelerate its development and provide support for continued expansion into 2027.