Namaste Yogis. Welcome to the Blockchain & AI Forum, where your blockchain and artificial intelligence technology questions are answered! Here no question is too mundane. As a bonus, a proverb is also included. Today’s question, was submitted by Luis from Malibu and he wants to know is Mistral leading the French AI revolution?
Luis, you came to the right place. Your question has perfect timing. I just returned from France and am feeling the French vibe! Rather than covering the entire waterfront of AI developments in France, I’ll limit myself to a French company named Mistral. Let’s start with a bit of background on Mistral, including its name which is French to the core–c’est la vie!
The word mistral has multiple uses in French. Not only does Mistral mean a cold northwesterly wind, but it’s also not uncommon for companies in industries related to wind energy, sailing, or the environment to use it in their name. The French say it evokes a sense of power, speed, and a connection to the natural world. It can also mean masterly. While traveling in France, I noticed Mistral as a last name as we say in the USA or as they say in France, the family name. Holy multi-tasking word, Batman! Now a word about the Mistral team and company mission.
With fewer than two dozen members, the Mistral team is small. According to Mistral, their mission is to make frontier AI ubiquitous, and to provide tailor-made AI to all developers. Mistral says, their mission requires fierce independence, strong commitment to open, portable, and custom solutions, and an extreme focus on shipping the most advanced technology in limited time. How I discovered Mistral comes next, followed by what Mistral does, and what it offers.
Approximately three months ago I discovered Mistral while researching AI projects for this blog. I attempted access but was denied. Instead, Mistral put me on a waiting list of interested users and recently granted me access with a full disclosure that their large language model (LLM) is in beta testing status.
Today, I put Mistral’s LLM, Le Chat, to the test against, two American companies—Open AI’s ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Co-Pilot– by asking all three identical questions. All three-offer free access to their LLM services. I won’t detail the contest; it’s not necessary. Essentially, Mistral is lacking behind the competition. Why Mistral trails, is a matter of speculation. Perhaps its funding related? Or maybe Mistral team size means it’s too small to compete with the titans? Could be they started later? I don’t know, but I do know the competition is ahead. Okay, now we go beyond their LLM to a preview of Mistrals AI products.
On their website, Mistral has a click option labeled La Plataforme (the Platform). This is where you’ll find the heart of their offerings and services. Basically, La Plataforme is a subscription service. For a fee, Mistral offers access to their AI developer tools. Mistral claims the tools permits users to develop AI agents and other related products. The subscription grants access to the latest Mistral models and to pay based on what you use. That’s a good feature. Moreover, users can set monthly spending limits and if there are multiple users with an enterprise, Mistral will centralize billing. The subscription grants access to the corresponding documentation and of course users can create API keys to access Mistral AI.
Time to say “au revoir” (goodbye) but not before sharing this French proverb: Only imbeciles don’t change their opinions.” Well said, my French friends!
Sincerely,
Yogi Nelson
Blockchain & AI Forum 