Microsoft's Bold $16 Million Gamble on Mistral AI, the Challenger to GPT-4 and Claude 2 - A Strategic Move or a Risky Bet For Microsoft Shares?

• Microsoft has partnered with French AI startup Mistral AI, to expand its AI portfolio beyond its investment in OpenAI.
• Following the announcement, Microsoft's stock experienced a slight decrease.

Microsoft Corp's MSFT recent announcement of a partnership with Mistral AI has stirred interest in the AI space. Acquiring a minor stake in the French AI startup, valued at a staggering $2.17 billion, Microsoft aims to diversify its AI portfolio beyond its investment in OpenAI.

This move hints at a strong commitment to advancing AI technologies. Not long ago, the tech giant made a substantial investment in OpenAI.

The collaboration highlights the integration of Mistral's AI capabilities into Microsoft's Azure AI platform. Mistral is preparing to provide open and commercial language models on Azure, following in the footsteps of OpenAI.

A key focus of this partnership is the advancement and deployment of next-generation large language models, with Mistral unveiling "Mistral Large," an innovative AI model positioned to rival OpenAI's GPT-4, ushering in a new era of AI-driven solutions.

Despite the bright prospects for this partnership, Microsoft's stock took a slight dip. After hitting a record high of $420 on February 9th, the stock dropped by almost 4%, inching closer to the $400 support level. This level served as support on February 21st, leading to a rebound, but recent market volatility has put pressure on the stock price.

When considering this decline in Microsoft's stock, it's important to look at the broader market performance. The current dip might seem small, especially if you compare it to the 8% increase seen this year already, and the impressive 55% rise last year.

Analysts in the market are keeping a close eye on the $400 support level. If it holds, it might trigger a rebound, possibly pushing the stock price up to the $500 resistance.

After the closing bell on Monday, February 26, the stock closed at $407.54, trading down by 0.57%.

This article is from an unpaid external contributor. It does not represent Benzinga's reporting and has not been edited for content or accuracy.