You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games hereEpic Games Fortnite lawsuits continue as the developer of the multiplayer juggernaut takes legal action against an account thief that stole and sold hundreds of players accounts. Following a huge lawsuit against cheaters, a prolific alleged Fortnite account thief is the centre of their own legal case.Epic sues Fortnite account thiefThe alleged Fortnite account thief Isaac i5aac Strock has been accused of stealing access to other players Epic Games accounts and selling them via auctions. According to Epic, Strock has stolen and sold hundreds of different accounts.He uses illicit means to discover the players usernames and passwords and in some cases even the login credentials for the players email address associated with the players Epic Games account, Epic wrote in a legal filing. He then sells access to these accounts to the highest bidders.The lawsuit explains that the alleged Fortnite account thief made thousands of dollars off the scam by using fraudulent tactics, such as impersonating the true account holder to defeat Epics account control protections and trick Epics player support team.Epic also writes that Strock also offered to sell a guide that other account thieves could follow to trick Epics support team and access other players accounts. These other thieves could then keep or sell accounts or use them as blackmail.Strocks actions harm Epic and the Fortnite community, the game developer wrote. Epic has spent substantial resources investigating and working to prevent Strocks conduct. Strocks conduct also directly harms Fortnite players who no longer have access to the accounts they spent time and money on.Epic Games has not specified a specific dollar amount for the lawsuits damages, but will instead allow the amount to be proven at trial. However, the game studio is attempting to get back all the money Strock is said to have made from stealing and selling accounts, as well as additional damages.For more Fortnite coverage, read about the upcoming Spawn crossover that could arrive sooner than expected or check out the new secret quest in the game. FortnitePlatform(s):Android, iOS, macOS, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/XGenre(s):Action, Massively Multiplayer, Shooter9VideoGamerRelated TopicsFortnite Subscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games hereModern games adore post processing effects, and often-times they look great. However, Monster Hunter Wilds is not one of those games. Alongside a worse version of DLSS that fans can thankfully upgrade themselves, Capcoms latest fantasy hunting game has a large number of post-processing effects that make the game look pretty damn muddy.Thankfully, players on PC can disable a number of these effects themselves to make the game look ten times better. However, youll need to delve into the modding community to do it. (You should also grab the mod that gives you unlimited character edits for free.)Make Monster Hunter Wilds look ten times betterWhile there are mods that turn off a number of effects, theres really only one effect that drastically reduces the image quality of Monster Hunter Wilds: lens distortion. While this effect can be set to off in the games config file, doing this doesnt actually work.Thankfully, modder SnakeyHips has released a mod that actually disables lens distortion in the new game to give players a much clearer image. The mod also disables the games built-in film grain effect.Although there are options to disable this within the games config.ini, changing that doesnt seem to do anything so thats why I looked into changing it via a script, the modder revealed on Nexus Mods.Lens distortion is a great effect for making more cinematic-style games. For something like The Last of Us or Until Dawn, its amazing. You get chromatic aberration and softer edges with great depth of field that you would see in a cinematic film captured through a real lens. However, for a game like Monster Hunter Wilds, it just results in a softer image.As the game gets even more mods, it seems obvious that even more graphical mods will come with higher quality textures and the like. However, with the games performance already in the toilet, maybe thats not wise.Monster Hunter WildsPlatform(s):PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series S/X, Xbox Series XGenre(s):Action RPGSubscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

AD100 Hall of Famer David Rockwell is known for bringing the drama to hospitality, and now his flair can heat up anywhere with the Rockwell Social Grill, a 360-degree walkaround grill and griddle offered in four sizes and made by a partnership between True Residential and Caliber. Cosentino continues its expansion outside, too, with the Urban Bonfire x Dekton collection of outdoor cooking clad in Ukiyo and Dekton Slim surfaces. And Smeg previewed a sizzling new product likely to launch late in the yearan electric barbecue grill.Bath Systems and FaucetryBrizo hosted AD PRO members for a cocktail event on the opening day of KBIS.Photography courtesy BrizoThe Bandeau rainhead by KallistaPhotography courtesy KallistaThere was plenty new on tap at KBIS, but it was new launches from Brizo and Kallista that had us feeling most inspired. Brizo updates the traditional ornate charm of the British manor home with its Beauclere collection of lavatory faucets with wheel, sculptural lever, and T-lever handleseach offered with an intricate malachite inlayalong with tub fillers and faucets with hand showers, and full shower systems. On the opening day of KBIS, AD PRO Directory members were treated to an exclusive look at the collection during an evening bash at the Brizo booth. Meanwhile, at Kallista, the coming-soon Bandeau showerhead collection flaunts an Italian marble trim and is finished with a seamless brass band. The seriesone of three bathroom collections from the label this yearhonors the wearable decoration that defined the headdress of Egyptian gods and goddesses.The Anthem+ digital shower system by KohlerPhotography courtesy KohlerNext-level, customizable shower solutions continue to reign at KBIS. Kohler debuted its Anthem+ digital shower system, with a refreshingly minimalist control system integrating rainheads, steam, SoundTile shower speakers, ice shower feature, and more. Brizos new SensoriPlus also seeks to transform the humble shower stall into a wellness sanctuary, thanks to six ports of temperature and pressure control, audiotherapy and chromatherapy features, a Mystix Steam System, and compatibility with smart home apps.SurfacesCasino Royale tile in Smoke by Donghia for Artistic Tile (available spring 2025).Photography courtesy Artistic TileArtistic Tile teamed up with legacy brand Donghia for a pair of mosaic tiles transforming the latters signature patterns: Casino Royale, a natural stone arabesque surrounded by tesserae mosaic, and Decadence, with waterjet cut shapes of honed stone and tesserae, each in three colorways. The collaboration is set to debut spring 2025. Eldorado Stone debuts the lighter, brighter Nordic Peak colorway to its richly tactile Cliffstone surface, which retains its signature texture whether specified as flat-planed faces or corners. And Cosentino won Best of KBIS for its FreePower collection of Silestone-topped vanities with embedded device chargers, designed in collaboration with James Martin Vanities.HardwareHardware styles by AD100 design firm Pierce & Ward are among the new wall-mounted bathroom collections from Modern Matter.Photo: Jared Beasley c/o Modern MatterFresh hardware was easy to find at this years show. Modern Matter previewed a wall-mounted bathroom collection including towel bars and rings, toilet paper holders, and robe hooks, each made of solid brass with polished and unlacquered finishesand customizable with gemstones (available summer 2025). Emtek unveiled new material options for its Select Lever program, including luxe Rosso marble and walnut finishes. And, in a delicious development, English brass experts Armac Martin followed up last years Cocktail collection of hardware with the silhouettes of glassware with a fresh range of fruity hardware.APPLY NOWGrow your business with the AD PRO DirectoryArrow

Architect Robert Garneau didnt have to look far for inspiration when he was asked to renovate a modest apartment inside a prewar building in Manhattans Chelsea neighborhood. A founding partner of Architecture Workshop PC, a boutique design firm noted for balancing elegance with efficiency, Garneau spent a decade living in the building some 20 years earlier and knew virtually every architectural detail of the residence without ever setting foot inside.By the time he toured the spacea 400-square-foot jewel box on the 18th floorthe architect had already envisioned creating a modern enclave that carried a sophisticated dialogue with the dwellings 1920s prewar charm. And despite the deep knowledge of the structure, he says he didnt approach the project with too many preconceived notions. Notwithstanding everything I already knew about the building, it was really a balancing of the old and new that lies at the core of the project, explains Garneau, a small-space expert whose firm has carved out a niche embracing projects with compact footprints. We wanted to maintain its rich character, but also offer the client a cozy, more contemporary space.Moving through the space and experiencing it, you only have so much to work with spatially, Garneau says of the 400-square-foot apartment. Its a challenge to unlock that real potential that I think is a great opportunity for an architect to revel in. The architect worked with Barbara Feinstein for the interior decorating of the small space. The sofa and lounge chairs are from Lawson-Fenning. The coffee table is Arteriors and the living room rug is ABC Carpet & Home.That client is television executive Tracy Underwood, a former president at ABC Signature who recently transitioned into an exclusive producing gig at 20th Television, a production company owned by Disney Television Studios. Based in Los Angeles, she purchased the apartment in 2021 as pied--terre for her frequent trips to New York City. At the time, she was living inside a Spanish bungalow-style home in LAs Silver Lake community and said she wanted the interior aesthetics of the Manhattan apartment to be a departure from her life on the West Coast.Robert really understood how important it was for me to preserve as much of the apartments history and character, says Underwood (right).

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Kart Eyes EmojiLego Mario Kart captures the magic of Mario way better than the rest of Marios brick-built adventures so farMario Kart translates well to Lego, and it's nice to see how successful these sets have been.Image credit: Vg247 Article by Alex Donaldson Assistant Editor Published on March 6, 2025 Legos foray into the world of video games continues to delight - weve got an increasing range of Sonic the Hedgehog sets, more Horizon Zero Dawn offerings, and the tantalizing promise of a Lego Game Boy later in the year. But launched without much fanfare earlier in the year is what is arguably one of Legos best game tie-ins yet: Lego Mario Kart.Part of the reason why there wasnt as much fanfare is because Mario Kart is essentially an extension of the existing Lego Super Mario line. Like the recent Donkey Kong sets that feature mine carts and iconography from the Donkey Kong Country games, its clearly been decided to group all things Mario-adjacent into the one product line, even if they hail from different video games. Thus Mario Kart isnt an all-new product line, and it didnt get the big splash launch. But you know what? Maybe it should have - because its lovely, and may convert some folk who arent into the existing Mario line.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. To understand what Im getting at, I suppose its key to first address the problem with the main Lego Super Mario sets. Essentially, the Lego Group and Nintendo clearly wanted to create something that bridged the gap between traditional toys and video games. The Lego Mario sets are driven by special figures of Mario, Luigi, and Peach that have screens in them so they have expressions, plus a sensor for reading QR code style. Each boxed set is usually some sort of construct that can be attached to other sets in a modular manner. The idea is that you build Lego Mario stages and then use the figures and a connected bluetooth device like a phone or tablet to track your progress through the levels. You can even play co-operatively.Its nice, but all of this has come at a bit of a cost. If you look at any given Lego Mario set it doesnt actually really resemble the Mario games. Individual bits might - a Pipe, Peachs Castle, or a meticulously brick-built representation of a key NPC like Bowser, one of his kids, or a Toad. But a lot of it ends up feeling painfully generic, especially compared to the more traditional Sonic playsets, which really channel the visuals of certain locations and scenes from throughout the series.But Lego Mario Kart hits a different cadence. Theyre still compatible with those bulky electronic figures - each vehicle has a slot just large enough to fit them in, plus a code for the toy to scan so it knows its now driving a cart - but theres just something about this build that just clicks. It's all very charming. | Image credit: VG247I suppose another good word for it would be that Mario Kart translates well to Lego. Theres a certain design language to Mario Kart, and Lego also has a truly storied history in building cool-looking vehicles of all shapes and sizes. The two brands are well-matched.So when you build an entry-level Mario kart set like a bike in the shape of Yoshi that is, er, ridden by Yoshi, or Marios classic kart complete with parasail that also comes with a small Toad to act as mechanic for it, each feels like a properly classic Lego build and looks really evocative of the games. Larger sets push into more satisfying territory still - Donkey Kong riding a car in the shape of a barrel as he and Diddy do in Double Dash, Baby Peach on a car inspired by a Wiggler enemy, and Lemmy in a mini airship, as youd expect.Theres some neat little touches. Legos stud shooter guns which typically just shoot single circular studs make an appearance, but theyre now augmented with special Koopa Shell ammo which means racers can indeed fire shells at each other - though the deadly Blue Shell is not yet represented. A lovely new mould represents Mario Karts classic banana peels, and one set even includes a great recreation of Lakitu riding on his cloud with his race start lighting getup.I can see a path to kids creating their own tracks around a house, leaving fabulous obstacle courses for grown-ups and pets to navigate without stepping on painfully sharp plastic - which is how it should be. I can see folk creating their own carts. I can see kids racing with far more excitement and intensity than with Mario Kart Live, which shipped with initially thrilling but ultimately flat remote-control cars. I can see how these sets can spark the imagination. Eat your kart out. | Image credit: LegoEven the electronic figures have a role to play here, even if theyre not my favorite thing. If you sit them in a kart and then whizz the Kart around, racing and drifting as kids would, the figures react as if theyre actually racing with relevant facial expressions and sound effects. Kids will love that, Im sure, as they do with the main Mario sets - but crucially, I think the Mario Kart offerings capture the unique but synergistic spirits of Lego and Mario each more strongly than any of the Lego Mario sets so far. As far as Im concerned, thats a win.Although, truth be told, Im still waiting for more Zelda sets. And how about an Arwing? Come on Lego, you know you want to.

Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube798kGames don't come much cooler than Sonokuni. This is a Hotline Miami-inspired action game developed by the Japanese hip hop group Don Yasa Crew and, just when you thought that premise couldn't get any sweeter, it's coming to Switch.Inspired by Japanese mythology, Sonokuni will see you playing as a lone assassin, Takeru, tasked with taking down a surreal superpower. To do so, you'll have to punch, kick and parry your way through opponents, all while bending time to make the action feel that bit more cinematic another mark in the 'coolness' column for additional bullet time.Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube798kWatch on YouTube All of this is accompanied by a hip hop soundtrack from the game's dev, and enough pixel art biopunk visuals to make you feel like you've stepped straight into the year 2077... or something like that.Images: Kakehashi GamesThe game is expected to launch on Steam from publisher Kakehashi Games at some point this quarter, with the Switch release following "soon after".Sonokuni picked up VGCs Media Highlight award and the Excellence In Sound Design award at last year's BitSummit indie expo, already adding a couple of trophies to its cabinet. We'll be keeping an eye out for more information over the coming months.Does this one look up your street? Let us know in the comments.

Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube798kTo call La Mode's Sorry Were Closed a survival horror is certainly accurate in many ways, but it also does a disservice to just how unique and fresh this debut title really is. While it absolutely borrows a few elements from genre classics like Resident Evil and Silent Hill (including the obvious PS1-inspired visuals), Sorry Were Closed is quite unlike anything weve ever played before, and its bloomin marvelous.The basic premise sees you take on the role of Michelle as she grapples with her emotions over a bad break-up while fending off a demonic entity known as The Duchess. Yeah, this game is filled with angels and demons Dan Brown would have a field day. The Duchess places a curse upon Michelle, one which will force her into a loving, all-worshipping relationship with the demon within a few short days.Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)You gain the power of The Third Eye, enabling you to peek behind the curtain of reality and glimpse an alternate world in which demons are made manifest. Were not just talking gross, zombified demons, though; Sorry Were Closed features a wonderfully diverse cast, most of whom harbour a demonic side revealed via The Third Eye.Take Robyn, for example: serving as Michelles guide throughout the game, they look quite cool enough with their trapper hat and fur-lined leather jacket, but activate the Third Eye and suddenly they spawn an awesome pair of horns and a swishy tail. This is perhaps the most subtle transformation, however, since other characters morph into completely different versions of themselves, including a trio of businessmen who quite literally transform into Cerberus.The game is split between spending time in a small, bustling London borough where you can chat with your friends and acquaintances and traversing demonic environments littered with enemies, locked doors, and puzzles AKA survival horror 101. Focusing on the social elements first, though, Michelle can accept optional tasks from her friends, thus influencing the final outcome.Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)Discovering which ending you wind up with is a solid incentive to spend as much time as possible talking with each character, but even if the game lacked this element, the writing and presentation are remarkable enough to keep you invested in its world. Each location, including a music store and a nightclub, is brimming with colour and personality, with funky, catchy music playing in the background, all bolstered by instant visual changes initiated via The Third Eye.The good news is that you can spend as much time as you like with the games social elements before progressing the story. You can either hightail it to your main goal straight away, if you wish, or lose yourself in quirky drama for hours on end. Wed recommend not powering through the game as fast as possible, however, since a lot of the horror presented is directly tied into Michelles life and her relationship with her peers.The sequences in which youre alone and fighting off against ferocious demons feel incredibly reminiscent of vintage survival horror. Youve got fixed camera angles, puzzles in which you combine items and activate them with in-game objects, and, of course, lots of creepy enemies. The main difference here, however, is how you take on your foes.Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)Starting with an axe, Michelle soon finds herself in possession of a pistol and a shotgun. Aiming your weapons shifts the perspective into first-person mode. Here, you can either shoot your enemies from a distance and slowly chip away at their health, or you can wait for them to come into close range, activate The Third Eye, and aim directly at the demons' hearts. Some smaller enemies can be wiped out immediately this way, while others have hearts that shift within their bodies, requiring three or four shots to vanquish them.Aiming carefully and blasting the hearts without missing a shot is highly encouraged since doing so will activate a special ability known as Heartbreaker. This is essentially a super-powerful blast from your shotgun that can eradicate any normal enemy in one go while drastically cutting down the health of boss characters. Activating Heartbreaker results in a slick animation in which Michelle carefully aims the shotgun towards the silhouetted enemy against a bright, bold pink background. So cool.When we encountered our first couple of enemies and started aiming in first-person mode, something felt a bit off. Aiming was too twitchy with the right analogue stick and it just didnt work all that well. We needed more fluidity, more precision we needed gyro controls. Our hearts sank briefly as we opened the options menu, dreading that the dev had overlooked this crucial control option, but thankfully gyro is present and correct, and it makes combat encounters infinitely more enjoyable. Wed highly recommend activating this from the start and cranking the sensitivity up a bit for the optimum experience.Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)Theres another optional change that you can implement within the menu: tank controls. By default, you have a modern control scheme, but tank controls make the game feel more authentically survival horror. They work well enough, but turning left or right can actually make Michelle walk backwards a lot of the time; perhaps an issue with sensitivity, but since it can't be altered, it can prove frustrating. As such, this is actually one of few examples of the fixed-camera genre in which modern controls feel better, though this will come down to personal preference, and were thankful that la Mode at least included it as an option.If theres one thing that we think is missing from Sorry Were Closed, its voice acting. To be clear, the game works perfectly fine without it, with dialogue boxes accompanied by a satisfying sound effect, but if the developer ever feels the need to revisit this project and give it the Disco Elysium treatment, that would be very welcome. It would give the characters that extra boost of personality and really make the beautiful, ethereal world sing even more.Finally, it's worth noting that the Switch version is capped at 30fps compared to the 60fps seen on the original PC release. It's not the kind of game that necessarily feels worse because of it, but if you're sensitive to that kind of thing, it's worth keeping in mind. Similarily, the initial load into the game can be quite lengthy, but once you're in, transitioning between most environments is reasonably swift, with slightly lengthier loads between the social settings.ConclusionSorry We're Closed is one of the most unique and memorable survival horror games we've ever played. The juxtaposition of bright colours and quirky characters against moments of true terror is unlike anything we've ever seen before, and the first-person combat mechanics manage to feel immensely satisfying and empowering while still retaining a sense of creeping dread. This is a world we won't soon forget, and unlike the protagonist's desire to shy away from love, we suspect you'll immediately fall head over heels for this one.A world unlike anything we've seen beforeWonderfully diverse castThe Third Eye mechanic is remarkably seamlessFirst-person combat is a joy with gyroMoments of terror really make an impactTank controls don't feel great (thankfully, they're optional)Voice acting would be niceExcellent 9/10

Mistral AI, the French company behind AI assistant Le Chat and several foundational models, is officially regarded as one of Frances most promising tech startups and is arguably the only European company that could compete with OpenAI. But compared to its $6 billion valuation, its global market share is still relatively low.However, the recent launch of its chat assistant on mobile app stores was met with some hype, particularly in its home country. Go and download Le Chat, which is made by Mistral, rather than ChatGPT by OpenAI or something else, French president Emmanuel Macron said in a TV interview ahead of the AI Action Summit in Paris.While this wave of attention may be encouraging, Mistral AI still faces challenges in competing with the likes of OpenAI and in doing so while keeping up with its self-definition as the worlds greenest and leading independent AI lab.What is Mistral AI?Mistral AI has raised significant amounts of funding since its creation in 2023 with the ambition to put frontier AI in the hands of everyone. While this isnt a direct jab at OpenAI, the slogan is meant to highlight the companys advocacy for openness in AI.Its alternative to ChatGPT, chat assistant Le Chat, is now also available on iOS and Android. It reached 1 million downloads in the two weeks following its mobile release, even grabbing Frances top spot for free downloads on the iOS App Store.This comes in addition to Mistral AIs suite of models, which includes:Mistral Large 2, the primary large language model replacing Mistral Large.Pixtral Large, unveiled in 2024 as a new addition to the Pixtral family of multimodal models.Codestral, a generative AI model for code.Les Ministraux, a family of models optimized for edge devices such as phones.Mistral Saba, focused on Arabic language.In March 2025, the company introduced Mistral OCR, an optical character recognition (OCR) API that can turn any PDF into a text file to make it easier for AI models to ingest.Who are Mistral AIs founders?Mistral AIs three foundersshare a background in AI research at major U.S. tech companies with significant operations in Paris. CEO Arthur Mensch used to work at Googles DeepMind, while CTO Timothe Lacroix and chief scientist officer Guillaume Lample are former Meta staffers.Co-founding advisers also include Jean-Charles Samuelian-Werve (also a board member) and Charles Gorintin from health insurance startup Alan, as well as former digital minister Cdric O, which caused controversy due to his previous role.Are Mistral AIs models open source?Not all of them. Mistral AI differentiates its premier models, whose weights are not available for commercial purposes, from its free models, for which it provides weight access under the Apache 2.0 license.Free models include research models such as Mistral NeMo, which was built in collaboration with Nvidia that the startup open-sourced in July 2024.How does Mistral AI make money?While many of Mistral AIs offerings are free or now have free tiers, Mistral AI plans to drive some revenue from Le Chats paid tiers. Introduced in February 2025, Le Chats Pro plan is priced at $14.99 a month.On the purely B2B side, Mistral AI monetizes its premier models through APIs with usage-based pricing. Enterprises can also license these models, and the company likely also generates a significant share of its revenue from its strategic partnerships, some of which it highlighted during the Paris AI Summit.Overall, however, Mistral AIs revenue is reportedly still in the eight-digit range, according to multiple sources.What partnerships has Mistral AI closed?In 2024, Mistral AI entered a deal with Microsoft that included a strategic partnership for distributing its AI models through Microsofts Azure platform and a 15 million investment. The U.K.s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) swiftly concluded that the deal didnt qualify for investigation due to its small size. However, it also sparked some criticism in the EU.In January 2025, Mistral AI signed a deal with press agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) to let Chat query the AFPs entire text archive dating back to 1983.Mistral AI also secured strategic partnerships with Frances army and job agency, German defense tech startup Helsing, IBM, Orange, and Stellantis.How much funding has Mistral AI raised to date?As of February 2025, Mistral AI raised around 1 billion in capital to date, approximately $1.04 billion at the current exchange rate. This includes some debt financing, as well as several equity financing rounds raised in close succession.In June 2023, and before it even released its first models, Mistral AI raised a record $112 million seed round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. Sources at the time said the seed round Europes largest ever valued the then-one-month-old startup at $260 million.Other investors in this seed round included Bpifrance, Eric Schmidt, Exor Ventures, First Minute Capital, Headline, JCDecaux Holding, La Famiglia, LocalGlobe, Motier Ventures, Rodolphe Saad, Sofina, and Xavier Niel.Only six months later, it closed a Series A of 385 million ($415 million at the time), at a reported valuation of $2 billion. The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), with participation from existing backer Lightspeed, as well as BNP Paribas, CMA-CGM, Conviction, Elad Gil, General Catalyst, and Salesforce.The $16.3 million convertible investment that Microsoft made in Mistral AI as part of their partnership announced in February 2024 was presented as a Series A extension, implying an unchanged valuation.In June 2024, Mistral AI then raised 600 million in a mix of equity and debt (around $640 million at the exchange rate at the time). The long-rumored round was led by General Catalyst at a $6 billion valuation, with notable investors, including Cisco, IBM, Nvidia, Samsung Venture Investment Corporation, and others.What could a Mistral AI exit look like?Mistral is not for sale, Mensch said in January 2025 at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Of course, [an IPO is] the plan.This makes sense, given how much the startup has raised so far: Even a large sale may not provide high enough multiples for its investors, not to mention sovereignty concerns depending on the acquirer.However, the only way to definitely squash persistent acquisition rumors is to scale its revenue to levels that could even remotely justify its nearly $6 billion valuation. Either way, stay tuned.This story was originally published on February 28, 2025 and will be regularly updated.

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free just click TechCrunch Mobility!TechCrunchs transportation team well at least myself and senior reporter Rebecca Bellan are hittin the road. Destination: SXSW, the annual tech, music, film, and culture conference in Austin. We both have panels and if youre at SXSW, please come check these out and introduce yourself.Well be keeping our eyes and ears open for transportation news coming out of the event, including Rivian CEO RJ Scaringes onstage interview. And you all know that Ill be scouting the city for Waymo robotaxis, which are only available via the Uber app.Our SXSW panels include a March 11 interview with Autodesks chief marketing officer Dara Treseder, and San Jose mayor Matt Mahan will focus on transforming urban spaces. On March 12, Rebecca will talk to execs from GM, Dolby, and Google about in-car entertainment, and I will interview Wing CEO Adam Woodruff, Walmart VP of dedicated delivery Warren Moore, and University of North Texas professor Clinton Purtell about the future of drone delivery.Before we jump into the rest of the news, I wanted to touch on the tariffs enacted by the Trump administration, which are expected to upend the automotive industry.Well be following developments of the roller-coaster deployment of this policy, including President Trumps decision to delay tariffs on automobile imports from Canada and Mexico for one month after requests from executives at the Big Three automakers. The catch? The administration expects GM, Ford, and Stellantis to move any offshore operations to the United States by April 2.I feel safe in this prediction: That is not going to happen.A little birdImage Credits:Bryce DurbinWhen Volkswagen revealed its cheapest EV yet, there were a few winks and nods about software that got us wondering. A little bird confirmed what was on our mind.Volkswagens ultra-cheap EV called the ID EVERY1 a small four-door hatchback revealed this week will be the first to roll out with software and architecture from Rivian. The EV is going into production in 2027 with a starting price of 20,000 euros ($21,500), and it will be the first to ship with Rivians vehicle architecture and software as part of a $5.8 billion joint venture struck last year between the German automaker and U.S. EV maker.Another cheap EV, called the ID.2all, which is supposed to come out in 2026, is based on the E3 1.1 architecture and software developed by VWs software unit Cariad, according to our source.Got a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or my Signal at kkorosec.07, Sean OKane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com, or Rebecca Bellan at rebecca.bellan@techcrunch.com. Or check out these instructions to learn how to contact us via encrypted messaging apps or SecureDrop.Deals!Image Credits:Bryce DurbinLets call this one the deal that Didi dreams of. Im talking about the Chinese ride-hail firm Didi and its hunt for fresh funds for its autonomous vehicle technology unit that could value it at $5 billion.Didi Autonomous Driving, the unit Didi created in 2020, has raised a total of $1.55 billion to date. Sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg (which reported the scoop) that the unit aims to raise several hundred million dollars more and is in talks with investors, including a Beijing-based fund, to gauge interest.And in other GIGANTIC deal news, Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD raised $5.6 billion in a primary share sale. The company sold 129.8 million primary shares in the deal, more than was expected.Other deals that got my attention AiDEN Auto, a connected vehicle technology and data privacy startup, raised $4.2 million in a seed funding round led by Nuri Venture Partners. Other investors include If Insurance, Tengro Ventures, Band of Angels, Mentors Fund, Start Equity Ventures, Conxcity, and Weltham Capital, as well as an unnamed group of angel investors and family offices. The San Francisco-based startup, founded by former Volvo engineers, has raised $6.1 million to date.Canoo CEO Anthony Aquila is buying nearly all of the defunct EV startups assets out of bankruptcy. The price? $4 million.CaPow, a company that developed in-motion electric charging systems for robotic fleets, raised $15 million in a Series A funding round led by Toyota Ventures. Investors Elements VC, IL Ventures, Payton Planar Magnetics Ltd., Mobilion, and Doral Energy-Tech also participated.Californias Clean Mobility Options Voucher Program issued $33 million in awards toaddress mobility gaps and reduce air pollution, including for electric school buses and e-bikes.Notable reads and other tidbitsImage Credits:Bryce DurbinAutonomous vehiclesAvride has yet another partnership, this time with Hyundai. The companies agreed to jointly develop autonomous vehicles. The deal will focus on AV technology designed for robotaxis. Avride is also expanding its fleet of Hyundai Ioniq 5 vehicles, which will be integrated with its self-driving system. History note: Waymo and Hyundai also have a deal.Politecnico di Milano set a new autonomous speed record with the Indy Autonomous Challenge using a Maserati MC20 Coupe, which reached 197.7 mph.Uber CPO Sachin Kansal and I spoke recently about his career at the ride-hailing firm and his promotion back in October. The deployment of autonomous vehicles through Ubers 14 partnerships (and possibly more in the future) is the next big challenge for the new chief product officer.The Waymo on Uber robotaxi service is now live in Austin. That means Uber users in Austin now have a choice between a Waymo robotaxi and a human driver. Speaking of Waymo, the company is logging more than 200,000 paid robotaxi rides every week doubling its weekly robotaxi rides in less than a year.Electric vehicles, charging, & batteriesAndreessen Horowitz co-founder Ben Horowitz donated a fleet of Tesla Cybertrucks to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police. He has a history of gifting tech to the department.Volvo unveiled the ES90 sedan, the companys first mass-produced EV that has an estimated 435 miles of range under Europes WLTP rating system. Fun fact: This Volvo is equipped withLuminars Iris lidar integrated into the roofline of the vehicle.Ride-hailingTesla applied for a permit with the California Public Utilities Commission to operate a transportation service in the state. Its important to note that Teslas application for a transportation charter-party carrier permit is different from what ride-hailing app companies Lyft and Uber have. A TCP permit means the company in this case Tesla owns the vehicles and uses employees as drivers. Its also a required first step if the automaker wants to eventually operate a robotaxi service there.Uber is piloting its teenagers-focused Uber for Teens service in India. The service is live inBengaluru, Delhi NCR, and Mumbai. The company plans to expand the service in the coming weeks to 35 cities, including Ahmedabad, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Pune.This weeks wheelsNothing this week, but stay tuned.What is This weeks wheels? Its a chance to learn about the different transportation products were testing, whether its an electric or hybrid car, an e-bike, or even a ride in an autonomous vehicle.