Microsoft appears to be diversifying its AI investments, partnering with AI startup Mistral AI.

Mistral AI is a Paris-based startup focused on generative AI. Microsoft already has an established partnership with OpenAI, but the company has announced a -multi-year partnership with the startup. Microsoft touts both companies’ focus on “bridging the gap between pioneering research and real-world solutions.”

The partnership will give Mistral AI access to Azure’s AI infrastructure, which the company can use to power its large language models (LLMs).

“We are thrilled to embark on this partnership with Microsoft,” said Arthur Mensch, Chief Executive Officer, Mistral AI. “With Azure’s cutting-edge AI infrastructure, we are reaching a new milestone in our expansion propelling our innovative research and practical applications to new customers everywhere. Together, we are committed to driving impactful progress in the AI industry and delivering unparalleled value to our customers and partners globally.”

Tests of Mistral Large, the startup’s flagship commercial AI model, shows it is comparable to industry-leading models and exceeds them in some ways.

“We have tested Mistral Large through the Azure AI Studio in a use case aimed at internal efficiency,” said Philippe Rambach, Chief AI Officer, Schneider Electric. “The performance was comparable with state-of-the-art models with even better latency. We are looking forward to exploring further this technology in our business.”

Microsoft will make Mistral’s models available via Azure AI Studio Models as a Service (MaaS) alongside existing OpenAI options. The two companies will collaborate on future research and collaboration.