Summary of WSJ Tech News Briefing: "A French Startup Wants to End Europe’s Reliance on American AI Tools"

Release Date: June 12, 2025
Host: Victoria Craig, The Wall Street Journal

Introduction

In the June 12th episode of the WSJ Tech News Briefing, host Victoria Craig delves into Europe's growing ambition to reduce its dependence on American artificial intelligence (AI) giants. The spotlight is on French startup Mistral, which is positioning itself as a formidable competitor in the global AI landscape. Additionally, the episode explores innovative solutions to global water scarcity, highlighting a revived 1960s desalination technology.

Europe's Quest for AI Sovereignty

J.D. Vance's Paris AI Summit Speech
At the Paris AI Summit, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance declared, “AI is going to make us more productive, more prosperous and more free. The United States of America is the leader in AI and our administration plans to keep it that way” (00:55). Vance criticized European regulations, suggesting they might hinder AI advancement. However, he also expressed openness to collaboration with European entities.

Mistral: Challenging the AI Giants

Introduction to Mistral
Victoria Craig introduces Mistral, a two-year-old French startup, as “one of Europe's biggest developers of large language models” (01:44). Competing with industry behemoths like OpenAI and Google, Mistral focuses on creating generative AI tools for applications such as computer coding, chatbots, and customer service. Their primary clients include major corporations and governmental bodies.

Insights from WSJ's Sam Schechner
Sam Schechner elaborates, “Mistral is really one of the few companies in Europe that is keeping up in this space... Their tools may not be like the cutting edge of the most recent tools from those big labs, but perform almost as well” (02:14). Mistral differentiates itself through efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and by releasing its models as open-source—similar to Chinese firms like DeepSeq. This openness addresses security concerns associated with software from certain regions, making Mistral an attractive option for businesses seeking strategic autonomy.

Strategic Partnerships and Expansion

Collaboration with Nvidia
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announced a partnership with Mistral to build a new AI cloud infrastructure (03:36). According to J.D. Vance, “Today we're announcing that we're going to build an AI cloud together here to deliver their models, as well as deliver AI applications for the ecosystem of other AI startups” (03:46).

Full-Stack AI Solutions
Sam Schechner explains that this partnership extends Mistral’s reach beyond model development to controlling the underlying hardware and software stack (04:03). By situating a data center near Paris, Mistral offers European companies and governments the ability to manage their data independently of U.S.-based supply chains, enhancing strategic autonomy.

Government Support and AI Sovereignty
French President Emmanuel Macron emphasized France’s role in AI sovereignty, referring to the initiative as “our fight for sovereignty or strategic autonomy” (05:39). Highlighting France's energy surplus from nuclear power, Macron underscored the country's capacity to support energy-intensive AI operations. Investments from both private sectors and governments, including the UAE, are accelerating the establishment of AI campuses in France, with Mistral aiming to capitalize on this momentum.

Innovative Solutions to Water Scarcity

Desalination Technology Revival
The episode transitions to address global water scarcity, presenting a revived desalination technology initially developed in the 1960s (07:16). Modern advancements, particularly from the oil and gas industry, have made it feasible to deploy desalination plants deep under the ocean. This method leverages high water pressure to efficiently push seawater through membranes that filter out salt, significantly reducing energy consumption compared to traditional onshore desalination.

Applications and Challenges
Christopher Mims discusses various pilot projects, including supplying fresh water to an offshore drilling facility in Norway and potential deployments in California to aid water-stressed cities like Los Angeles (10:08). However, challenges remain, such as ensuring long-term viability in harsh ocean conditions and achieving cost-effectiveness. Success hinges on the ability to produce affordable desalinated water on a large scale without incurring prohibitive energy costs (11:13).

Building Trust in AI

AI Governance and Security
During the episode's interlude, Hrithika Gunner, IBM’s General Manager for Data and AI, discusses strategies for building trustworthy AI systems. She emphasizes the importance of understanding data usage, enforcing privacy policies, and continually updating security measures. Gunner states, “We end up seeing a flying wheel effect of more AI that is actually built and infused into applications, which then yields a better, more engaging, innovative set of capabilities within these companies” (07:07).

Conclusion

The WSJ Tech News Briefing episode underscores Europe's strategic efforts to establish its own AI infrastructure, reducing reliance on American technology giants through the rise of startups like Mistral and supportive government policies. Simultaneously, innovative approaches to global challenges such as water scarcity highlight the intersection of advanced technology and sustainable solutions. As the AI landscape evolves, Europe's pursuit of sovereignty and innovation positions it as a significant player on the global stage.

Notable Quotes:

• J.D. Vance: “AI is going to make us more productive, more prosperous and more free. The United States of America is the leader in AI and our administration plans to keep it that way.” (00:55)

• Sam Schechner: “Mistral is really one of the few companies in Europe that is keeping up in this space... Their tools may not be like the cutting edge of the most recent tools from those big labs, but perform almost as well.” (02:14)

• President Emmanuel Macron: “Our fight for sovereignty or strategic autonomy.” (05:39)

• Hrithika Gunner: “We end up seeing a flying wheel effect of more AI that is actually built and infused into applications, which then yields a better, more engaging, innovative set of capabilities within these companies.” (07:07)

Produced by Julie Chang with Deputy Editor Chris Inslee. For more insights, visit WSJ.com.