Microsoft on Monday announced a new partnership with French startup Mistral AI – Europe’s answer to ChatGPT creator OpenAI – as the US tech giant looks to expand its footprint in the fast-growing artificial intelligence industry.
Microsoft said in a statement that invests in 2 billion euros ($2.1 billion), 10-month business to help it unlock “new commercial opportunities” and expand to global markets, without providing further financial details.
Under the deal, Mistral’s large language models (LLM) – the technology behind generative AI products – will be available on Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing platform, making it only the second company to host its LLM on the platform after OpenAI.
Microsoft will also boost the startup’s reach to new customers as it launches its ChatGPT-style multilingual conversational assistant “Le Chat,” or “the cat.”
The Mistral AI logo is displayed on a mobile phone screen.
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Microsoft President Brad Smith said on Monday that the deal was an “important” signal of the company’s support for European technology.
“I really think this day is one of the most important days in terms of Microsoft’s technology support for Europe,” Smith told CNBC’s Karen Tso at the Mobile World Congress technology conference in Barcelona, Spain.
“Essentially, we are agreeing to a long-term partnership with Mistral AI so that they can train and deploy their next generation of AI models in our AI data centers, our infrastructure, effective immediately,” he added.
Increasing control
It comes as Microsoft faces pressure from EU antitrust regulators over the reporting $13 billion investment in San Francisco-based OpenAI. Asked if the investment was an attempt to calm competition concerns, Smith said the company was committed to offering a diverse range of products.
“It’s important for us to show that it’s not just Microsoft technology, it’s not just American products. It will be an engine for technology, innovation and growth in Europe as well,” he said.
Smith said the investment in Mistral AI will also lead to funds earmarked for research and development, including AI models for public sector services in Europe.
“I think Europe wants, needs and deserves a wide range of offerings,” Smith said.
Earlier on Monday, Spanish telecommunications giant Telefónica announced that it has struck a deal to integrate Microsoft’s Azure AI Studio into its digital ecosystem, Kernel, allowing employees to interpret data using generative AI language models.
Rival tech giants such as Google and Amazon are also increasing their investments in AI amid the growing frenzy surrounding the emerging technology. Global markets hit record highs last week on strong results from AI chipmaker Nvidia.
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/26/microsoft-invests-in-europes-mistral-ai-to-expand-beyond-openai.html
