Microsoft and French AI startup Mistral have deepened a multibillion-dollar partnership to expand Europe-based GPU capacity, including thousands of NVIDIA GPUs, to boost AI development and the delivery of cloud and AI services. The expanded collaboration makes Mistral’s Medium 3.5 and OCR 4 models available in Foundry and integrates Medium 3.5 into Copilot Studio, while enabling Azure Local customers to run Mistral’s open models on their own terms. Azure will allow customers to develop software using Mistral’s France-based data centers, expanding European capacity and offering an alternative to U.S.-controlled infrastructure. The agreement emphasizes giving Europe greater control over data and operations while preserving access to U.S. software and security features, highlighting a broader sovereign-AI push. The move comes amid a broader trend to diversify AI infrastructure and reduce dependence on U.S. technology, following recent U.S. actions restricting foreign access to certain models. The partnership also includes joint go-to-market plans and initiatives to accelerate adoption across regulated sectors in Europe and globally.