Mistral AI’s CEO says Europe has 2 years to stop becoming America’s AI ‘vassal state’

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figcaption>Mistral’s CEO warned Europe is running out of time to avoid AI dependence on the US.The Paris-based startup has continued leaning into that message in recent announcements, including a partnership with Groupe Caisse des Dépôts, a state-backed French public investment institution, focused on strengthening Europe’s “digital sovereignty” through generative AI and GPU computing infrastructure.

On Tuesday, Mensch warned that the AI race is increasingly a battle over access to energy, chips, and data center capacity.

US tech companies are already moving aggressively to secure those resources, he said, adding that Europe risks falling behind permanently if it moves too slowly.

“The Americans are deploying a trillion dollars next year,” Mensch said. “The one who controls the chips, who controls the electrons, who has massive access to energy — that’s the one who wins.”

The infrastructure case

Mistral, which was founded in 2023 by former Meta and DeepMind researchers, has emerged as one of Europe’s flagship AI startups with a valuation of roughly $13.6 billion.

Mensch said the company aims to build a gigawatt of AI computing capacity by 2029, though he suggested Europe ultimately needs far more infrastructure investment.

The executive also criticized Europe’s fragmented regulations and capital markets, saying they make it far harder for startups to scale than in the US.

“If we don’t move fast enough,” Mensch said, “we’ll end up in a situation where we have no choice left.”

“In a world where you import all your digital services from the United States, you have no leverage over the United States,” he added.