French AI lab Mistral AI has raised €3 billion (about $3.58 billion) in a Series D round at a post-money valuation of more than €21 billion (about $24.39 billion), confirming earlier rumors. Mistral called it the largest equity fundraising round ever completed by a European technology company. Samsung Electronics led the round, with EQT-managed Scaleup Europe Fund and existing investor PSG Equity joining as co-leads. Existing backers including a16z, Nvidia, Salesforce Ventures, and new investors Advent, BlackRock, and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg also participated.

Mistral said it will use the funding to scale compute capacity, build infrastructure, accelerate commercial growth, and expand its international footprint. The company is pursuing a subtle strategic shift aimed at addressing concerns in Europe and elsewhere about over-dependence on the United States for technology, especially amid intensifying politics around AI regulation and products Stateside. In addition to a push to build 1 GW of compute capacity in Europe by 2030, Mistral in August unveiled tools that let customers choose which regions their AI queries are processed in. It has also started hosting third-party, open-weight AI models, including Chinese ones, to bolster its positioning as an AI services provider that lets customers control what models they use and how.

Mistral’s frontier research remains “the foundation underpinning its infrastructure, products and sovereignty,” which the company said on Tuesday, likely an indirect response to critics who interpreted its hosting of Chinese models as a sign it was turning into an inference provider. The company also emphasized its global ambitions, pushing back against the misunderstanding that its remit is confined to France. Mistral now operates in 20 countries, and its go-to-market strategy is more focused on helping governments and corporations leverage AI while preserving a sense of control, unlike OpenAI and Anthropic, which sell their models more broadly.

The round has geopolitical undertones that have mostly benefited Mistral. French president Emmanuel Macron said on X that the round reflected France and South Korea’s goal of “building a third way in AI.” Samsung’s entry into Mistral’s cap table reportedly has the blessing of France’s authorities. Amid growing demand for sovereign AI infrastructure, not being an American company has reportedly boosted Mistral’s revenue. However, the capital required to compete with leading U.S. labs isn’t available in France alone. With Dutch chipmaker ASML as a major partner and investor, and now Samsung, Mistral appears to have found a third way, similar to Germany’s Aleph Alpha’s merger with Canada’s Cohere.

Mistral still works with U.S. players, particularly Microsoft, through a strategic partnership the two companies significantly expanded in July. The cap table remains resolutely international, with European backers doubling down and new American investors joining. That international mix, the article suggests, might be enough for the customers Mistral is targeting.