[Exclusive] "Europe's OpenAI" Lands in Korea... Mistral AI Posts Job Openings in Seoul [Global AI Battleground Korea] ①

Recruiting Talent in Korea and Singapore to Expand in the Asian Market

French artificial intelligence (AI) startup "Mistral AI," known as the "OpenAI of Europe," is preparing to enter the Korean market. Mistral AI has posted job openings in Seoul, seeking experienced professionals to handle AI service sales to domestic companies.

According to the IT industry on June 17, Mistral AI recently began recruiting for the position of "Senior AI Deployment Strategist" to work in the Seoul area. This senior-level role is responsible for business-to-business (B2B) sales, AI adoption consulting, and post-sales management. The working arrangement is hybrid, combining remote work and attendance at the office.

Mistral AI logo. Screenshot of Mistral AI homepage

Applicants are required to have more than eight years of experience in IT·tech companies or related consulting fields. Additional requirements include hands-on AI solution development experience or having communicated with executives at large corporations. The recruitment process consists of seven stages, including four rounds of interviews—one of which is an in-depth interview—and a pre-assignment.

Currently, Mistral AI does not have any branches in Asia and is positioning Singapore and Korea as key footholds for expansion into the Asia-Pacific market. The company is hiring for various positions in Singapore, including AI Business Strategists, and, notably, HR manager job requirements specify HR management experience in Asian regions such as Singapore, Korea, Australia, India, and Japan.

Mistral AI was founded in 2023 by former members of Google DeepMind and Meta. Developing generative AI, Mistral received recognition as the "OpenAI of Europe" after its large language model (LLM), "Mistral Large," debuted with performance on par with OpenAI's GPT-4. The company has also launched the AI chatbot service "Mistral Vibe" (formerly Le Chat), aiming to build out its AI ecosystem.

Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee and Artur Mensh, Chairman of Mistral AI, are conversing at a welcoming luncheon hosted by President Lee Jae-myung for French President Emmanuel Macron's state visit at the Blue House on April 3. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Mistral AI is considered a company realizing European sovereign AI in the global AI market, which is dominated by the United States and China. In 2024, the company received investments totaling 600 million euros (approximately 1 trillion won) from Samsung and NVIDIA. In September of last year, it attracted an additional 1.7 billion euros (about 2.98 trillion won) from Dutch semiconductor lithography equipment manufacturer ASML. Within just two years of its founding, Mistral AI's corporate value has reached as much as 20 trillion won.

Previously, Mistral AI prepared for its entry into Korea by meeting with key figures in the Korean government and representatives of domestic companies. In April, coinciding with French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to Korea, Mistral AI executives including CEO Artur Mensh visited Korea. During this period, CEO Mensh met with Ha Jungwoo, then Senior Secretary for AI Future Planning at the Blue House, and Lim Moonyoung, then Vice-Chairman of the National AI Strategy Committee, to discuss public-private AI cooperation models. On May 29, Mensh also met with Ryu Jemyung, the Second Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, who was in Paris to attend the G7 Digital and Technology Ministers' Meeting, discussing cooperation in the AI industry and talent exchanges.

Among business leaders, meetings were held with Jeon Younghyun, CEO and head of the Device Solutions (DS) division (Vice Chairman) at Samsung Electronics, Kim Sunghoon, CEO of Upstage, and Choi Sunghwan, President of SK Networks. At the luncheon hosted by President Lee Jaemyung for President Macron's visit, Mensh also met with Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee and Choi Sooyeon, CEO of Naver.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.