Would we re-enter this discussion about Mistral AI's 21 billion euro valuation if we hadn't already sunk so much effort into linking it to the AI Act debate?
It feels like we're still focusing on this number because it was once a big deal, even though their own capital allocation strategy shows regulatory compliance is a tiny fraction of their spending.
They're putting over 80% of their money into things like compute infrastructure and talent, not mainly navigating regulations.
Let's apply fresh eyes: if we hadn't already invested in this connection, would we still see this valuation as a strong argument for the AI Act's viability, or would we walk away and look at actual, smaller businesses struggling with the rules?