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🤖 La Machine #15: Mistral AI Dreams The Impossible IPO Dream 🤖

Also inside: Inside Microsoft's GenAI Studio in Paris; AI regulatory squabbling, funding news and events galore.

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Chris O'Brien + Helen O'Reilly-Durand


Edito

This past week, the global AI landscape saw seismic shifts with major announcements that underscore the fast-paced innovation occurring outside Europe.

OpenAI and SoftBank’s unveiling of their $500 billion “Stargate” venture, an ambitious project to build AI infrastructure on a massive scale, and the rapid ascent of China’s AI startup DeepSeek, which has garnered Silicon Valley acclaim, demonstrated just how quickly all the current assumptions about AI competitiveness could be scrambled.

On one hand, Stargate seemed to offer a stark reminder of the resources that US firms could marshal to fuel their AI ambitions. If that's what it takes to win in AI, is there really any hope for Europe?

However, DeepSeek’s release of an open-source reinforcement learning model that rivals OpenAI’s flagship systems at significantly lower costs has the potential to reset all the calculations about the capital expenditures needed to compete. If it takes millions instead of billions, then maybe the race will still be wide open. Already, the DeepSeek news is shaking markets as Japan chip stocks fell on Monday and Nasdaq futures fell as investors reconsidered the view that AI leadership in AI once seemed unassailable just a few days ago.

Whether these reactions are justified or just short-term panic remains to be seen. But the announcements of the past week underscore the speed and scale of AI advancements outside Europe. Europe appears to be relegated to the role of follower rather than leader. It must find a way to become more agile and move faster if it's going escape the fate of watching the future defined by rivals.

Chris O'Brien

Headlines

🗞️ Mistral AI, the talk of the AI town in Davos last week, made waves with its refusal to sell despite high-profile suitors like Microsoft. CEO Arthur Mensch said the company is keeping its focus on innovation, not exits. With a mission to move beyond standard AI models, Mistral is setting bold goals for 2025 and beyond. | Sifted, Yahoo, NBC

🗞️ Renowned French AI researcher François Chollet, the brains behind Keras, is diving into the deep end of AGI (artificial general intelligence) with his brand-new lab. This venture aims to redefine intelligence, exploring how machines can learn and think like humans. | TechCrunch

🗞️ France’s attempt at rivaling ChatGPT with its sleek AI assistant Lucie has been met with sharp criticism as her answers often miss the mark. Users have highlighted numerous errors, questioning her reliability and practical value despite her polished exterior. Linagora, the French open-source software firm leading the consortium that had received government funding for the project, blocked access to Lucie “temporarily.” In a statement, Linagora officials said the chatbot was an “academic research project” in the early stages of development and that, "We got carried away by our own enthusiasm." | The Times

🗞️ France’s culture minister Rachida Dati stated that the U.S. tech-driven AI approach isn’t Europe’s style. Emphasizing ethics, creativity, and innovation, France is crafting a unique path for AI that respects European values. She made her remarks in advance of the AI Summit for Action in Paris next month, which will include a weekend of events focused on AI and culture. Dati was seeking to put at ease the minds of French artists who are worried that AI will ravage their copyrighted works. | Le Monde

🗞️ Mews Partners is launching a cutting-edge AI startup studio designed to bring industrial innovation to life. By combining startup agility with their consulting expertise, they’re helping companies leap from ideas to industrial-scale solutions in record time. | LinkedIn

🗞️ LightOn, just a few weeks after its IPO, has supercharged its generative AI platform Paradigm with agent-like capabilities, giving businesses unprecedented autonomy in complex tasks. The company hopes the new features will boost its document analysis platform as it seeks to leverage the attention from the recent public offering.

🗞️ France is spearheading efforts to reshape Europe’s AI regulation, pushing for a pragmatic approach that balances innovation with responsibility. The goal? Keep AI regulation from stifling creativity while ensuring it aligns with European values. | Investigate Europe

🗞️ Meta’s top AI expert Yann LeCun told AFP at the World Economic Forum that Europe needs to take bigger risks in AI development. With tech competition heating up globally, his message was clear: it’s time to double down on ambitious AI projects. "We (Europe) are afraid of risk. We are afraid of financial risks. So we don't invest enough," LeCun said. "But on the other hand, (we are) not at all behind in terms of talent, in terms of spirit." | France24


Interviews

🗣️ Microsoft GenAI Studio: 'Paris has become the place to be'

Microsoft has been active in the French tech ecosystem for years. But in the latest recognition of France's AI prowess, the US tech giant opened its first global GenAI Studio in Paris last fall.

The three-month accelerator just completed its inaugural batch with the 15 startups accepted in the program presenting at a Demo Day last week to a gathering of investors, corporates, and media.

"Paris has become 'the place to be' on AI subjects," said Florent Pelissier, Microsoft's Startups & ISV Sales Director.


AI Funding News

📇 Company: Shippeo
🔍 Description: The most recommended real-time transportation visibility platform in the world.
💻 Website: http://shippeo.com
📍 HQ City: Paris
🧗 Round: Late VC
💰 Amount Raised: €27.27M
🏦 Investors: Battery Ventures; Partech; Bpifrance; NGP Capital; Yamaha Motor Ventures; Shift4Good; LFX Venture Partners; Woven Capital
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Pierre Khoury; Frédéric Jouenne; Jean-Bastien Dussart; Jérôme Burtin; Lucien Besse; Thibaut Morlot; Brice Hua
🗞️ News: FrenchWeb


📇 Company: Kraaft
🔍 Description: Reinventing interfaces in factories through voice recognition and natural language processing (NLP).
💻 Website: https://www.kraaft.co/
📍 HQ City: Paris
🧗 Round: Series A
💰 Amount Raised: €13.00M
🏦 Investors: Brick & Mortar Ventures; Stride.VC; Chalfen Ventures; Dawn Capital; OSS Ventures
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Thomas Reygagne; Cédric Boidin, Marc Nègre
🗞️ News: EU Startups


📇 Company: AISPRID
🔍 Description: Autonomous robots for soft fruit picking.
💻 Website: https://aisprid.com
📍 HQ City: Saint-Malo
🧗 Round: Series A
💰 Amount Raised: €10.00M
🏦 Investors: Bpifrance; Demeter Partners; Innovacom; GO Capital; Breizh Up
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Nicolas Salmon; Morgan Kervoern
🗞️ News: FrenchWeb


📇 Company: XXII
🔍 Description: Pioneering French startup specializing in artificial intelligence-powered computer vision to capture, analyze, and optimize real-time video streams for operational efficiency across various sectors.
💻 Website: https://small-structure-910926.framer.app/en/
📍 HQ City: Paris
🧗 Round: Strategic Investment
💰 Amount Raised: N/A
🏦 Investors: Sopra Steria Ventures; CMA-CGM Group; Defence Innovation Fund; 574 Invest (SNCF Group); CIB Development (Colas Group); Techmind; Kima Ventures; Duval Group
👨💼👩💼 Founders: William Eldin (CEO)
🗞️ News: PR


📇 Company: Dylogy
🔍 Description: Insurance innovation platform enhancing risk management with NLP and Generative AI for tailored document processing solutions.
💻 Website: https://www.dylogy.com/
📍 HQ City: Lyon
🧗 Round: Seed
💰 Amount Raised: €1.20M
🏦 Investors: HUB612; LYA Protect; Convex Group; Mindstone
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Aurélien Couloumy; Loris Chiapparo

Events

📆 From February 6 to 11 February 2025, a wide range of events are being organized around Paris as part of the "Action Week for Artificial Intelligence" in connection with the Paris AI Summit. More details here.

AI Excellence Tour | February 1-8 | On the occasion of the AI Action Summit, France Digitale is partnering with the PRAIRIE Research Institute and Entretiens de l'Excellence to create a special AI Excellence tour and raise awareness among young people, particularly high school students from disadvantaged backgrounds, about the challenges, professions, and AI skills for today and tomorrow. The tour will pass through Strasbourg (February 1), Lille (February 5) and Paris (February 8).

📆 GeoAI Hack at AI Action Summit | February 4-5 | GeoAI Hack, co-organized by InstaDeep and datacraft, is a two-day hackathon, supported by the French government, that aims to bring together creative minds passionate about AI to solve a very current challenge: building operational geospatial solutions powered by AI. A demonstration of what AI for good can accomplish. | Apply here

📆 Cathay Innovation Cocktail: AI for Finance | February 5 | As part of the AI Week organized by the Presidency of the Republic, culminating in the AI Action Summit, Cathay Innovation is pleased to host an event on the theme AI for Finance. | Registration

📆 AI in large organizations: state of play and 2025 perspectives | February 6 | ​Join us, as part of the AI Summit hosted by the Elysée Palace, for an exclusive restitution of the report on the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) by major groups, organized by the French Tech Grand Paris and Wavestone in partnership with Viva Technology and the Hub France IA. | Registration

📆 AI, Science, and Society | February 6 and 7 | As part of the AI Summit, the International Association of Researchers will bring together around 100 world-renowned AI researchers. You can listen to them at the "AI, Science and Society" conference at Institut Polytechnique de Paris which will highlight the scientific advances of AI and the advances of science thanks to AI. | Registration

📆 Culture and AI, challenges and opportunities | February 8 | The Bibliothèque Nationale de France will host round tables and workshops to explore the transformations generated by AI in several fields (copyrights, museum developments, architecture and spatial planning, heritage, journalism and information, audiovisual and cinema, etc.). | Information

📆 Creation and AI, exhibition and mediation | February 9 | "Machina sapiens" is an unprecedented artistic journey, which exhibits, on Sunday, February 9, about twenty original works that question AI. A stimulating proposal, which will make it possible to discover the abundance of universes in turn fascinating, mysterious, or simply seductive. An event not to be missed. | Information

📆 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit | February 10-11, 2025 | Heads of State and Government, leaders of international organizations, CEOs of small and large companies, representatives of academia, non-governmental organizations, artists, and members of civil society will gather in Paris to discuss the critical policy issues surrounding AI. | Information

📆 Entrepreneurs: AI a lever for growth | February 11 | As AI revolutionizes our economy, it is crucial for entrepreneurs to seize the opportunities offered by this technology. Organized by CCI Paris, this afternoon will be an opportunity to discover concrete measures to support your digital transition and understand the central role of AI in regional and national economic strategy. | Registration

📆 France Digitale's AI Day 2025 | February 11, 2025 | Paris will be the AI capital of the world (at least for a week) during the AI Action Summit. With our AI Day — the official business side event of the Summit — seize this moment to meet and learn about the best in AI innovation made in Europe. | Information

📆 World AI Cannes Festival | February 13 -15, 2025 | For 3 days, the prestigious Palais des Festival of Cannes will become the world capital of AI, where decision-makers and AI innovators meet, where the most promising innovations and technologies get into the spotlight, where those who are currently building the world’s most game-changing AI strategies and use-cases will be on stages. | Registration

📆 AI Agent DAY @NFT Paris | February 15 | You're invited to Crypto AI:CON Day during NFT Paris 2025, where around 300 selected founders and investors will gather for an evening of meaningful connections and conversations in the heart of Paris. | Registration

📆 RAISE Summit 2025 | July 8-9, 2025 | RAISE Summit is the premier event for professionals seeking to disrupt, build, and connect in the AI landscape. This summit is the ultimate destination to validate AI strategies through real-world use cases, define a winning AI playbook, and find the right partners to deliver cutting-edge solutions. | Register


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