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Le Chat, the chatbot app from French startup Mistral AI, has surpassed one million downloads in just 13 days, making a significant milestone for the company. While impressive, OpenAI’s ChatGPT reached the same milestone in five days, highlighting the intense competition in the AI chatbot space.
Le Chat is a fast-growing contender in the AI chatbot race
Mistral launched on Feb. 6 the iOS and Android versions of its desktop-based chatbot, offering features such as real-time web search, document analysis, image generation, and in-place code execution. What separates it from the likes of ChatGPT and DeepSeek is its exceptional response speed, which Mistral claims is “faster than any other chat assistant.”
The app’s standout feature, Flash Answers, delivers responses at speeds of up to 1,000 words per second, powered by some of the “fastest inference engines on the planet.” Unlike other AI chatbots that restrict advanced features behind paywalls, Mistral offers Le Chat’s core capabilities — including Flash Answers — for free, while a Pro subscription tier at $14.99 per month provides more advanced models and unlimited messaging.
CEO hails Le Chat’s milestone as a first step for Mistral
Mistral’s CEO Arthur Mensch told Le Parisien about Le Chat’s downloads milestone, regarding it as “a first step that confirms that we can offer a popular AI, with unprecedented speed and that meets the personal and professional needs of the widest audience.”
“Le Chat will continue to improve and meet everyday needs. We look forward to unveiling new features soon,” Mensch added, translated from French.
DeepSeek, which sparked a wave of disruption in the U.S. tech sector when it was released on Jan. 10, quickly emerging as a key competitor, marked one million downloads by Jan. 24, according to TechCrunch. However, momentum meant those downloads had more than doubled by Jan 27.
Mistral’s rising influence in European AI
Paris-based Mistral was founded in April 2023 by Mensch and some ex-Google and Meta researchers. Its mission is in “democratizing artificial intelligence” with open-source models. The company, which was valued at €5.8 billion ($6 billion) as of June 2024, is often cited as a symbol of Europe’s growing AI innovation.
French President Emmanuel Macron has publicly praised Mistral’s efforts, stating in a CNBC interview in May 2024 that he believes the startup could become one of the world’s AI “big players.” Macron also urged people to download Le Chat in a TV interview ahead of the Paris AI Action Summit earlier this month, reinforcing France’s goal to compete with U.S. and Chinese AI powerhouses.
A bold vision: Independence and expansion
Mistral is keen on maintaining its independence, a stance it reinforced when announcing plans to build its first AI cluster in Essonne, France, a project expected to cost “several billions euros.”
In a January interview with Bloomberg, Mensch also emphasized that his company was “not for sale” and is instead preparing for an initial public offering, despite securing over £1 billion in external investment from major players such as Microsoft, NVIDIA, Salesforce, and General Catalyst.
As Mistral continues to expand its footprint in AI, its rapid growth and competitive edge will be crucial in determining whether it can challenge the dominance of established industry giants like OpenAI.