France artificial intelligence (AI) startup Mistral AI is moving in earnest to target the physical AI market by unveiling a new robot navigation AI model.
Mistral on the 8th (local time) unveiled the robot navigation model "Robostral Navigate." Designed to let robots move autonomously through complex spaces such as offices, factories, homes, and cities, the model requires only a single camera and simple natural-language commands.
It is also a standalone architecture that is not tied to specific hardware, allowing it to be applied to various robot types. The company said training was done entirely through simulation rather than robot driving data.
Founded in 2023 by researchers from Google DeepMind and Meta, Mistral AI is considered a leading European AI company. In May, the company expanded into physical AI and secured new customers such as Airbus and BMW. It focuses on providing AI models specialized for industrial engineering processes such as design, simulation, and quality control, along with computing infrastructure, for corporate clients.
According to Bloomberg, Mistral is in talks to raise about 3 billion euros in new funding, and its corporate value is expected to be assessed at 20 billion euros.