ASML says €1.3B investment in Mistral is "strategic partnership"

The news already spread on Sunday. Today, leading semiconductor equipment manufacturer ASML and France-based AI leader Mistral AI officially announced their "strategic partnership based on a long-term collaboration agreement to explore the use of AI models across ASML’s product portfolio as well as research, development and operations". The deal aims to benefit ASML customers with faster time to market and higher performance holistic lithography systems.

ASML is investing €1.3 billion in Mistral AI’s Series C funding round as lead investor, in order to support its development and reinforce the long-term partnership benefits. This results in ASML holding an approximately 11 percent share on a fully diluted basis in Mistral AI.

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“The collaboration between Mistral AI and ASML aims to generate clear benefits for ASML customers through innovative products and solutions enabled by AI, and will offer potential for joint research to address future opportunities,” said ASML President and Chief Executive Officer Christophe Fouquet. “We believe that this strategic partnership with Mistral AI, which goes beyond a traditional vendor-client relationship, is the best way to capture this significant opportunity. We also believe that this collaboration is value-enhancing to Mistral AI.”

Mistral AI Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Arthur Mensch added: “We are proud to engage in this long-term partnership with ASML, combining our frontier AI expertise with ASML’s unmatched industrial leadership and most sophisticated engineering capabilities. We believe this partnership will strengthen Mistral AI’s proposition, position, and value in the AI market. Together, we will accelerate technological progress across the global semiconductor and AI value chain."

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Innovate faster

ASML believes that working with Mistral AI will allow both companies to innovate faster together. This first-of-its-kind partnership between a semiconductor equipment manufacturer and a leading AI company will bring together their respective competencies, the companies stated.

ASML will gain a seat on the Strategic Committee of Mistral AI as part of its investment, offering ASML an advisory role in Mistral AI’s future strategy and technology decisions. ASML Chief Financial Officer Roger Dassen will assume this role.