A French start-up founded four weeks ago by a trio of former Meta and Google artificial intelligence researchers has raised €105 million in Europe’s largest-ever seed round. Mistral AI’s first round of financing values the Paris-based concern at €240 million, including the funds raised, according to people close to the company. The record amount raised highlights the growing frenzy surrounding AI and Europe’s desire to create a viable alternative to Silicon Valley companies such as Microsoft-backed OpenAI and Google’s DeepMind. “There is a rising awareness of the fact that this technology is transformative and Europe needs to do something about...