“European regulators have been played.” Kai Zenner, the head of office for MEP Axel Voss, said on LinkedIn.
The two lawmakers who led the AI Act, S&D’s Brando Benifei and Renew’s Dragoș Tudorache, didn’t want to criticize the deal straight away, demanding, respectively, “more transparency” or “not to jump to conclusions.” Tudorache even applauded “the level of visibility and recognition” that Mistral got for its work.
AI consolidation
For Microsoft, it’s yet another high-profile partnership in the hot field of generative AI, after its tie-up with ChatGPT maker OpenAI.
Concerns are growing that the race in the field of generative AI is already over — and that the field is dominated by the U.S. Big Tech companies that moved swiftly to work with initial pioneers, such as OpenAI.
European antitrust authorities are already checking on the links between Microsoft and OpenAI, and say they’ll also scrutinize Microsoft and Mistral.
For Mistral to succeed, the deal also shows how European companies working on generative AI applications may need to work with U.S. Big Tech companies if they’re going to scale up.
