The CEO of Mistral, a prominent artificial intelligence startup in Europe, anticipates that artificial intelligence technology will progress beyond large language models this year. Arthur Mensch mentioned to CNBC that he foresees a shift in AI’s product focus towards “systems” by 2025, moving away from models and towards integrating models with contextual business data.
Mensch emphasized the importance of systems in AI, stating that they are connected to data and tools, enabling them to perform tasks autonomously and act in an agentic manner. Despite being established just two years ago, Mistral has rapidly gained attention as one of Europe’s most talked-about AI companies, attaining a $6 billion valuation and receiving support from Microsoft. The startup, often seen as a rival to OpenAI, has been instrumental in developing various open-source large language models.
The tech industry witnessed a surge of interest last year in AI “agents,” which are AI assistants capable of independent actions with minimal human oversight. Unlike AI chatbots like ChatGPT, these models are designed to operate discreetly in the background. Mensch envisions that future AI systems will enhance the performance of integrated large language models by linking them with pertinent contextual data, enabling them to offer tailored solutions for diverse business requirements.
Mensch highlighted the evolving landscape of AI, emphasizing the need for industries to leverage AI systems to distill their expertise and drive value within their respective sectors. The World Economic Forum’s annual gathering in Davos, Switzerland, this year has placed a spotlight on AI, attracting influential leaders from the business and political realms. Along the Davos Promenade, a central hub of the event, prominent companies such as Salesforce and Workday have set up temporary meeting spaces prominently featuring the theme of “AI.”
