Microsoft inks deal with France’s Mistral AI, an OpenAI rival that has its own chatbot

Associated Press

Microsoft announced an artificial intelligence partnership Monday with the French startup Mistral AI that could lessen the software giant’s reliance on ChatGPT-maker OpenAI for supplying the next wave of chatbots and other generative AI products. Microsoft and Mistral AI didn’t disclose the financial terms of the deal, though Microsoft said it involves a small investment in the Paris-based startup. That suggests it is far smaller than Microsoft’s investment of billions of dollars into OpenAI, a years-long relationship that has attracted the scrutiny of antitrust regulators in the U.S. and Europe.