France’s finance ministry states it had no foreknowledge of the deal between Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) and local tech start-up Mistral AI. This statement comes after allegations that the country’s campaign for more relaxed AI rules in Europe was to favour Microsoft.
French Government Pleads Ignorance Regarding the Microsoft-Mistral AI Collaboration
On Monday, 26 February 2024, Microsoft announced it had struck a multi-year deal with Mistral AI. The US tech titan invested $16m in the French company to introduce its specific AI protocols through the Azure cloud computing platform. In its press statement, Microsoft wrote:
This partnership with Microsoft enables Mistral AI with access to Azure’s cutting-edge AI infrastructure, to accelerate the development and deployment of their next generation large language models (LLMs) and represents an opportunity for Mistral AI to unlock new commercial opportunities, expand global markets, and foster ongoing research collaboration.
Reportedly, Microsoft initially indicated it made this investment without claiming any interest in the company itself. However, it later said the investment would be managed as equity during Mistral’s next funding drive, which is standard practice regarding investments in tech start-ups.
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According to Reuters, both Mistral AI and France petitioned the European Union (EU) for more leniency in its AI Act. Some questioned Mistral AI’s motivation in light of this deal with Microsoft. In a Reuters interview, Kim van Sparrentak, an EU lawmaker, said:
That story seems to have been a front for an American-influenced big tech lobby. The Act almost collapsed under the guise of no rules for ‘European champions’, and now look. European regulators have been played.
