Mistral AI's 21 billion euro valuation is impressive, but for a debate on the AI Act's regulatory viability, it's more of an outlier than a precedent. Historically, a single company's financial success has rarely been sufficient to prove an entire regulatory framework works for everyone; we need to look at the broader picture for all companies. The playbook has always shown that what truly impacts viability is how small and medium businesses navigate these rules, not just the big players. If the Act is viable, it should work for a small Belgian startup just as much as for Mistral, which has rarely been the case for new regulations.