Reuters - Microsoft's deal with Mistral AI faces EU scrutiny

OMI Europe director Max von Thun was thoughts on the multiyear partnership between Microsoft and European AI startup Mistral were published.

“This announcement exposes as a farce Mistral’s efforts to derail the AI Act based on its status as a supposed ‘European champion," von Thun said.

Microsoft's deal with French tech startup Mistral AI has provoked outcry in the European Union, with lawmakers demanding an investigation into what they see as a concentration of power by the tech giant.

Antitrust authorities are already looking at Microsoft's partnership with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, with the European Commission earlier warning the companies' relationship could be in breach of EU competition rules.

But lawmakers were taken by surprise on Monday, when Microsoft announced it had made a 15-million euro ($16 million) investment in Paris-based Mistral, and would soon make the company's AI models available via its Azure cloud computing platform.

A Microsoft spokesperson told Reuters on Monday it invested in Mistral without holding a stake. Later, Microsoft clarified to say its investment would convert into equity in the company's next funding round, a common practice among big tech companies investing in AI startups without putting a valuation.

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