Europe’s AI sovereignty push draws new investor attention

Samsung is reportedly in talks to invest up to €1bn in French AI company Mistral, adding momentum to Europe’s effort to build a more independent technology ecosystem. Mistral, launched in 2023 as a European alternative to major US AI model developers, is said to be raising €3bn at a €20bn valuation.

European sovereignty is increasingly shaping investment decisions across AI, semiconductors, energy, defence and pharmaceutical production. Houlihan Lokey’s Ashish Patel said pressure from European governments is helping drive demand for critical technologies developed closer to home, while companies such as Mistral and Lovable have pushed the case for sovereign European platforms.

Investor interest is also expanding into the infrastructure behind AI, including data centres, semiconductor companies and other critical systems. Swedish investment company EQT is reportedly in talks to lead or co-lead Mistral’s Series D through the Scaleup Europe Fund, a €5bn vehicle launched by the European Union last year to address Europe’s late-stage funding gap. Europe’s challengers still face heavily funded rivals, with Anthropic recently securing $65bn and OpenAI announcing a $122bn fundraising round.