Co-Founder & General Partner at BlackSheep Fund. Entrepreneur, Venture Capitalist, AI expert.
Mistral AI an OpenAI Rival in Europe, which has recently started generating revenue, is in talks to raise capital at a $5 Billion valuation. Details about the specific investors Mistral has engaged with for this new funding round are currently unclear. Among its existing investors are Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Microsoft the latter having also invested significantly in OpenAI but with a larger capital commitment. It is clear that this is no longer just an industrial battle but a clash to occupy a strategic area at both continental and global levels. Not having proprietary technology in this sector is equivalent to experiencing a gap similar to what we have recently seen in the energy sector. It means depending on exporting countries, where the price for our productivity depends on third parties. As a country, Italy needs to support our national champions like iGenius, companies that have technology and numbers to compete. #AI #LLM #opensource #future #italy #europe #vc
Godwin Josh
8mo
The emergence of Mistral AI as an OpenAI rival in Europe underscores the intensifying competition in the AI landscape, reminiscent of historical industrial battles for market dominance. Reflecting on past instances where proprietary technology dictated global influence, one wonders about the strategic implications of this clash for continental and global supremacy in AI innovation. Considering the significance of proprietary technology in shaping geopolitical dynamics, how do you foresee European nations leveraging their AI champions to establish sovereignty in the AI domain, while navigating complex alliances and dependencies in the global AI ecosystem?
Lucia Fava
8mo
Hi Umberto Bottesini I'm just trying to use iGenius, but the process is very bureaucratic. I need to schedule a call just to try a demo, which I find inconvenient.
CEO Talent Garden Italia & MED | Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Corporate Communication, IULM | Entrepreneur & investor (4X Exit) | Keynote Speaker | Host #Debrief Podcast
8moI understand your enthusiasm for Italian AI companies like iGenius, but I think your post is a bit misleading about the actual competitive landscape in the AI industry. In reality there is very little true competition between the major AI companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral, etc. Many of these companies share the same major investors like Microsoft and the same personnel on their boards. This suggests they are actually coordinating and cooperating with each other rather than fiercely competing. Without real competition, there is a risk of an unhealthy concentration of power and influence in the hands of a few large tech companies, especially considering the huge potential and value of AI. Naively believing that companies like Mistral and OpenAI are rival competitors fails to account for the reality of their close financial and governance ties. So while supporting national AI champions is certainly important, we also need to honestly acknowledge the state of competition in the industry and be vigilant about the concentration of power. Only by promoting true competition and innovation can we hope to not be left behind in this strategic field.