After Washington cut off access to a top U.S. model, Mistral’s push for sovereign AI looks more appealing than ever. But Europe’s AI champion is still chasing the frontier—and relying on American tech to get there.

Open-weight AI models are having a moment in the wake of recent turmoil at US tech giants. For French AI lab Mistral, that’s the the best thing that could have happened.

After Washington cut off access to a top U.S. model, Mistral’s push for sovereign AI looks more appealing than ever. But Europe’s AI champion is still chasing the frontier—and…