French artificial intelligence startup Mistral AI has completed raising 385 million euros ($415 million) in funding. Information about this was provided by Reuters.

Prominent investors including Andreessen Horowitz, LightSpeed Ventures, Salesforce, BNP Paribas, General Catalyst, La Famiglia, New Wave, Motier Ventures and Sofina participated in the funding round.

The startup plans to use the funds raised to develop its technology and open source software.

Refreshing their portfolio, the company also announced the Mixtral 8x7B open source model, which they claim is the "answer" to chatbots such as OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Bard. At the time of the announcement, the model is already available in beta, and is scheduled for widespread publication in early 2024.

While Mistral AI did not disclose its current valuation, a source close to the situation roughly estimated the company's value at €2 billion.

The move reflects the general trend towards strategic investment in artificial intelligence and highlights the significant interest in developments in the field. With AI technology constantly evolving, support from large investors is helping startups realize their ambitious plans.