Microsoft's Partnership With Mistral AI Gets Highlights In The European Union

Brando Benefei, a member of the European Parliament who oversees the preparation of the AI Act (photo: x @ReImagineEuropa)

JAKARTA - An agreement between Microsoft and French technology startup Mistral AI is facing a review in the European Union.

On Monday, February 26, Microsoft announced that it will soon provide an AI Mistral model through its Azure cloud computing platform. The company said it had also invested in Mistral, but had no shares.

"We have invested 15 million euros in Mistral AI which will convert into equity in the company's next funding round," a Microsoft spokesman said.

This deal raised suspicions in Brussels. During negotiations over the broad AI Act in the EU, Mistral lobbied for looser rules for some models, with supporters warning that strict rules could undermine the ability of European companies to compete with tech giants.

The European Commission told Reuters on Tuesday 27 February that it would analyze the Microsoft-Mistral deal, as part of their ongoing review of the technology giant's AI partnership. The EU executive agency has previously warned that Microsoft's support for US-based OpenAI may be subject to EU merger rules.

"What is on the rise shows that maintaining our ambitions for the security of the general AI model with systemic risk is the right decision, following the legitimate but strong lobbying of companies like Mistral," said Brando Benefei, a member of the European Parliament who oversees the preparation of the AI Act in the block.