Fresh Money for Fresh AI Ideas
A recently established artificial intelligence startup—Mistral AI—has bagged a whopping $113 million in a seed funding round. This not only pumps up their valuation to $260 million, but it also sets them on course to potentially rival well-established players like OpenAI. All this in just two short months since their launch!
The Minds Behind Mistral AI
Co-founded in May 2023 by Arthur Mensch and his cohorts—Timothee Lacroix and Guillaume Lample—Mistral AI’s team brings a powerhouse of experience to the table. Mensch, a former research scientist at Google DeepMind, is steering the ship as CEO. Lacroix and Lample, with backgrounds at Facebook AI, join him as they venture into the world of open-source generative AI models.
Funding Details and Future Plans
The latest funding round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, attracting support from other notable names like JCDecaux and Rodolphe Saadé. Mensch enthusiastically noted that this financial backing offers them the “resources and network” necessary to launch their new generative AI model. Mark your calendars; they plan on introducing their first text-generating models in 2024!
Hiring Spree in Paris
To keep pace with their ambitious goals, Mistral AI is on a hiring spree, seeking talented AI researchers, software engineers, and product developers. So, if you’ve been eyeing a move to Paris, now might just be the moment to dust off your resume and brush up on your French.
Where’s the Social Media Presence?
Ironically, for a tech startup looking to make big waves in the AI world, Mistral AI has yet to establish a social media presence. One can only speculate what the team is cooking up over in their Parisian headquarters, but without some online chatter, it’s like waiting for a soufflé to rise while keeping the oven door ajar!
OpenAI Turns its Gaze Towards South Korea
In the larger landscape of AI technology, OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman was busy chatting with South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol recently. Altman expressed a compelling need for South Korea to step up its game in chip manufacturing, a critical component for AI tech. Let’s just say, it seems like the battle for AI supremacy is heating up, and South Korea might be next on the map for chip production.
