[Edaily Marketin Soyoung Park Reporter] This week (September 7–11), startups in various sectors—including artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and healthcare—secured investments from venture capital (VC) firms and accelerators (ACs).

In particular, Mistral, a leading European AI company, drew industry attention by successfully securing a large-scale investment in a Series D round led by Samsung Electronics. This investment by Samsung Electronics garnered significant attention as it marks another major investment led by a manufacturing and technology giant, following ASML’s lead in Mistral’s Series C round last year. Industry analysts noted that Samsung Electronics’ decision to make a large-scale strategic investment in an AI model company signals its move to secure AI technology and expand collaborations.

French AI startup “Mistral”

European AI startup Mistral raised 3 billion euros (approximately 4.9 trillion won) in a Series D funding round. Just three years after its founding, the company’s valuation was recognized at over 21 billion euros (approximately 34 trillion won). This marks the largest equity investment ever secured by a European technology company. This round was co-led by the ScaleUp Europe Fund, managed by EQT and spearheaded by Samsung Electronics, along with existing investor PSG Equity.

Mistral is a French AI startup founded in 2023. In the generative AI market dominated by U.S. Big Tech companies such as OpenAI and Google, it has introduced the “open-weight” model. An open-weight model is an AI model that companies or institutions can install on their own servers and modify or utilize as needed.

Mistral focuses on a “full-stack” strategy that encompasses everything from Open-Weight AI models to the computing infrastructure that powers them and enterprise-grade products. This enables clients to build and operate AI within their own environments. The company explains that this approach reduces dependence on the technology roadmaps or pricing policies of specific AI providers.

Mistral plans to allocate the funds secured in this round to AI model research and development (R&D), expansion of computing infrastructure, product development, and global business expansion. In particular, the company plans to increase the computing capacity required for developing cutting-edge AI models and expand its infrastructure investments.

“Aidin Robotics,” a company specializing in robotic sensory capabilities

HD Hyundai Robotics has invested 13 billion won to acquire a stake in Aidin Robotics,

a company specializing in robotic sensory capabilities

. HD Hyundai Robotics aims to expand strategic partnerships with promising technology companies to help the domestic robotics industry strengthen its competitiveness in the global market.

Aidin Robotics develops sensor technology that precisely detects a robot’s touch and force. The company designs and manufactures its own capacitive force and tactile sensors.

Building on this investment, the two companies will embark on product development that combines HD Hyundai Robotics’ robot platforms with Aidin Robotics’ force and tactile sensors and control technologies. They also plan to develop a five-fingered robotic hand specialized for the shipbuilding and heavy industry sectors and integrate it into HD Hyundai Robotics’ humanoid robots.

Data and AI-Based Growth Care Company ‘WithDoctors’

WithDoctors, a company specializing in growth care for children and adolescents, has secured seed funding from Series Ventures. The investment amount was not disclosed. Series Ventures took note of WithDoctors’ approach to integrating the previously fragmented field of growth management from the perspectives of medicine, exercise, nutrition, psychology, and sleep, and standardizing it through data and AI. The company is evaluated as having significant potential to set the standard for the domestic growth care market based on its proven offline operational know-how and proprietary technology.

WithDoctors operates a multidisciplinary growth care model that integrates medicine, exercise, nutrition, psychology, and sleep. It does not replace growth treatment. The company works to reduce growth-inhibiting factors—which vary from child to child—and continuously manages factors that influence growth. It collects multidisciplinary data through precise examinations covering approximately 210 items. A team of PhD-level experts designs personalized growth strategies.

The company’s core competitive strengths lie in its proprietary Growth Management Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, its AI-powered growth management platform, and its unique care principle, the RESST system. By integrating the management of examination, medical history, and prescription data, the system automatically generates personalized growth assessment reports. The company plans to expand its capabilities to include growth prediction, analysis of growth-inhibiting factors, and recommendations for customized programs based on its accumulated data.