Nvidia Partners with Mistral to Build Sovereign AI, Make Europe Less Dependent on US Tech

Europe is expanding its investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure with a growing partnership with Nvidia to reduce its dependence on US tech giants like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google.

The move comes after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang‘s whirlwind tour of London, Paris, and Berlin, where he announced a series of AI projects designed to be more relevant to European demands. The core of his message was “sovereign AI”—the “belief that every country should develop its own systems based on its own language, culture, and values.

“We are going to invest billions here,” Mr. Huang said during his stop in Paris. “Europe needs to move into AI quickly.” His comments reflect heightened unease among European leaders about outside control over essential technologies.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently announced an investment of $1.35 billion to beef up the U.K.’s computing ability.

Amid the inevitable flurry of announcements, AI infrastructure received new attention from French President Emmanuel Macron, who, in his keynote at VivaTech 2025, declared it a national priority. Germany also entered the fray, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressing support after Nvidia confirmed that it will establish a regional AI cloud platform in conjunction with Deutsche Telekom.

Currently, most of Europe’s cloud services are operated by U.S.-based companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Google. However, French AI firm Mistral, in collaboration with Nvidia, plans to change this landscape. Their first joint project involves a data center in France powered by 18,000 Nvidia GPUs, with further expansion scheduled for 2026.

The European Commission has also stepped in, allocating $20 billion to build four AI “gigafactories” across the continent. According to EU officials, Nvidia is expected to support these facilities with direct chip production inside Europe, a move seen as critical to regional self-sufficiency in AI infrastructure.

However, achieving self-dependency in AI will not be easy, as energy demand from AI-powered data centers continues to rise. These facilities currently account for 3% of the EU’s electricity consumption, a figure expected to increase significantly in the coming decade.

Despite investments that are far smaller than the $10–15 billion quarterly spending seen by American tech giants, European firms like Mistral continue to advance ambitious AI goals. “There’s no reason why Europe couldn’t have its own tech champions,” said Mistral CEO Arthur Mensch on a panel at VivaTech 2025, where he appeared alongside Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang