Mistral raises $830 million in debt for AI data centre build-up

Europe’s leading AI provider Mistral has raised $830 million in new ​debt to buy 13,800 Nvidia chips for a major ‌data centre near Paris, the firm told Reuters, as Europe races to scale AI infrastructure to compete with the U.S. and China.

The deal, set ​to be announced on Monday, marks Mistral’s first debt ​raising and underscores growing investor confidence in European AI ⁠firms as they seek to challenge the dominance of U.S. ​tech giants like Microsoft, Google and Amazon in cloud computing and ​AI services.

Mistral’s debt raising was financed by a consortium of seven banks, including BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole CIB, HSBC and MUFG, it said. The ​data center in Bruyeres-le-Chatel is expected to become operational in ​the second quarter of 2026.

Mistral selected the site for its first data center ‌in ⁠February 2025. Last month, the company unveiled plans for a second facility in Sweden and said it would seek to secure 200 megawatts of capacity across Europe by the end of ​2027.

“Scaling our infrastructure ​in Europe is ⁠critical to empower our customers and to ensure AI innovation and autonomy remain at the heart ​of Europe,” Chief Executive Arthur Mensch said in ​a ⁠statement shared with Reuters.

The Paris-based startup, which provides AI models to the French armed forces, has positioned itself as a European alternative ⁠to ​U.S. AI leaders, offering both models and ​infrastructure services to governments and enterprises seeking greater technological independence. Reuters