Timothée Lacroix: The French Genius Behind an AI Revolution

By a tech enthusiast observer

I have been following Timothée Lacroix for a few years now, and I must admit that his journey annoys me as much as it impresses me. This French prodigy, co-founder and CTO of Mistral AI, embodies that intellectual elite emerging from the École Normale Supérieure that succeeds at everything it touches.

After eight years at Meta (formerly Facebook) as an engineer and PhD student, Lacroix decided in June 2023 to embark on a journey with his partners Arthur Mensch and Guillaume Lample. And just like that, in less than two years, these three have become the first French billionaires in AI! A valuation of 11.7 billion euros, and here I am still struggling to make ends meet...

What particularly annoys me is this apparent ease with which he navigates between in-depth research (more than 25,000 academic citations!) and lucrative business. While we suffer the societal consequences of AI, these new masters of the digital world are getting rich at a breakneck pace.

Macron loves it, of course! He presents Mistral AI as the European champion against the American giants. But let's be honest - these "French" companies always end up Americanizing when the dollars flow in. I would be curious to see how long Lacroix and his crew will really remain independent before succumbing to the sirens of Silicon Valley.

And this alliance with NVIDIA? Typical! We talk about European technological independence, but we always end up relying on American hardware.

Despite my criticisms, it's impossible to deny his talent. Lacroix has this rare mix of theoretical genius and entrepreneurial instinct. But I would have preferred this exceptional intelligence to tackle more fundamental problems for humanity rather than just creating another AI company valued at a gold price.