During industry conferences around the world, it’s not uncommon for fans or start-up founders to be eager to network with well-known technology CEOs. However, it wasn’t the well-known figures who were being flocked. Rather, the focus was directed towards the creators of some of the most innovative and popular Artificial Intelligence firms in the world.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and co-founder and CEO of Mistral AI, Arthur Mensch, attended VivaTech, one of Europe’s largest IT shows. Mistral AI is a French firm that has been around for a little over a year and has received support from Microsoft in addition to hundreds of millions of dollars.

Although the company is only worth $2 billion, multiple sources indicate that it is reportedly looking for $6 billion in capital. Mensch, the CEO of Mistral AI, which creates AI models akin to OpenAI, has gained attention due to the company’s meteoric rise. He was hurriedly escorted from the speaker waiting area into the next meeting room after concluding his panel in front of an audience on the official VivaTech stage. The speakers’ room is located in the Viva Lounge, a special area of the VivaTech event with restricted access.

Anthropic was formed in 2021 and Amazon has invested about $4 billion in it. Mistral AI and Anthropic serve as prime examples of how AI companies are propelled into the public eye, apparently out of nowhere, by large investments from well-known business titans and the excitement surrounding the technology.