Mistral co-founder: Europe must build its own AI or depend on US and China

Mistral AI co-founder Arthur Mensch argued in a Le Monde column that Europe's reliance on American AI providers risks an "economic regime of dependence without equivalent in the history of civilization." He warned that owners of closed models can raise prices or cut access without notice, citing Anthropic's June 2026 cutoff of Fable and Mythos.

• Mensch calls relying on others' open models a "fundamental error" for Europe
• Closed model owners can hike prices or cut access without notice
• Example: Anthropic cut off access to Fable and Mythos in June 2026
• CCIA Europe estimates EU sovereign AI could cost €115 billion over 10 years