The French AI start-up Mistral has entered into a groundbreaking partnership with the news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) to provide access to over 2,000 daily articles for the AI chatbot "Le Chat". This cooperation, which spans several years, aims to base Mistral's technology on verifiable facts and set European standards for trustworthy content. The agreement, described as a "genuine partnership," comes at a time when many media companies are weighing between licensing agreements with AI firms or legal actions due to potential copyright violations. According to Mistral CEO Arthur Mensch, the collaboration is an example of how Europe can respond to the increasing deregulation by US tech giants.

Europe must defend its technological sovereignty," said Mensch, criticizing setbacks in content moderation by US companies like Meta and Elon Musk's X. AFP chief Fabrice Fries added that this type of agreement sends a strong signal against "Big Tech's offensive on European regulation." Mistral, which raised 600 million euros in funding last year at a valuation of 6 billion euros, has established itself as a leading European AI company. By integrating AFP content, it offers media groups a more open and fair partnership structure than US competitors like OpenAI.

Commercial details of the deal were not disclosed. However, Fries emphasized that it is not a one-time payment for data, as is the case with other OpenAI agreements. The collaboration with Mistral is rather a model designed to secure long-term revenue for AFP. The partnership with Mistral also provides AFP with an opportunity to compensate for revenue losses as existing contracts with Meta for fact-checking expire. In 2024, AFP generated about 20 million euros through agreements with tech platforms, accounting for around 10 percent of total revenue. Fries stated that the agency is reliant on new tech partners to replace this source of income. Mistral is following a global trend with this move: Google recently concluded a similar agreement with the Associated Press for its Gemini AI. OpenAI, known for ChatGPT, on the other hand, relies on one-time licensing and has recently struck deals with Axel Springer and News Corp.

For AFP and Mistral, the partnership represents a milestone in setting European standards for AI applications while laying the financial foundation for a sustainable media future.