One day in September 2021, while riding his bike through Paris as he did every day, Arthur Mensch was struck by a scooter. The accident was serious enough to injure his back. In the months that followed, the at the time nearly 30-year-old, a brilliant artificial intelligence (AI) researcher at Google France, began to consider changing his life. Together with two engineer friends, they came up with the somewhat crazy idea to start their own company and take on the Big Tech giants, the global leaders in the sector, including Microsoft, Meta and Apple.
The accident continued to haunt Mensch, who suffered from complications and back pain. He had to resign himself to surgery and took an eight-week leave from Google. After a second opinion from a surgeon, the operation was ultimately canceled. But Mensch had already taken the leap: He founded Mistral AI in April 2023 and never returned to work at Google.
People thought they had found a great story: A young scientist embracing his entrepreneurial dream after coming face-to-face with the fragility of life. But Mensch immediately downplayed it. Too simplistic, or too focused on psychology. “Starting a company is always a combination of personal factors and strategic thinking,” he explained, theorizing a “ratchet effect” that occurred after a long period of development.
Five hundred employees
He welcomed us in the Donkey Kong room (named after the video game character created by Nintendo in 1981) at his company’s Paris offices, located in a building near the Canal Saint-Martin in the 10th arrondissement. Geek culture and a Silicon Valley-style start-up atmosphere prevailed. Cashews and high-protein yogurts were available for self-service.
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