Ecosia drops Mistral and argues outside capital erodes European AI independence
Ecosia is replacing Mistral AI with open models, and founder and chief executive Christian Kroll says the motive is cost, flexibility and energy use, not Chinese technology. Kroll told EU-Startups the Berlin search engine will likely use Melious.ai, a German provider on low-carbon power. Mistral raised three billion euros in a Series D led by Samsung Electronics in September 2026, valued above twenty-one billion euros.
Kroll framed Mistral's growth as carrying a cost absent from any cap table: capital from United States backers such as Andreessen Horowitz, Nvidia and Salesforce Ventures, which he argues weakens its claim to European sovereignty. Ecosia took the opposite path, growing largely without outside money after early support from German entrepreneur Tim Schumacher, and since 2018 its steward-ownership structure has barred any sale or profit distribution to shareholders.
Source: EU-Startups · October 9, 2026