Veldhoven-based chip machinery producer ASML has confirmed it is investing €1.3 billion to buy an 11% stake in French AI company Mistral.

The deal makes the Dutch firm Mistral’s biggest shareholder and values Mistral at almost €12 billion. The company was founded in 2023 by former DeepMind and Meta researchers.

ASML already uses artificial intelligence to make its chip machines more efficient but until now has largely developed the technology in house.

The partnership is “based on a long-term collaboration agreement to explore the use of AI models across ASML’s product portfolio as well as research, development and operations, to benefit ASML customers with faster time to market and higher performance holistic lithography systems,” ASML said in a statement.

ASML will gain a seat on Mistral strategic committee as part of its investment, a role which will be carried out by CFO Roger Dassen, in addition to his existing responsibilities.