Mistral Launches AI-Powered Coding Assistant, Mistral Code
French AI startup Mistral has released Mistral Code, a new AI-powered coding assistant. This tool aims to compete with established players like GitHub Copilot, Cursor, and Windsurf.
Based on the open-source project Continue, Mistral Code integrates Mistral's own AI models. It offers features like in-IDE assistance, local deployment options, and enterprise-grade tooling.
A private beta is now available for JetBrains IDEs and Microsoft VS Code.
Boosting Developer Productivity with AI
Mistral's blog post emphasizes their goal: "deliver best-in-class coding models to enterprise developers." They highlight features ranging from instant code completion to multi-step refactoring within a single platform. This platform can be deployed in the cloud, on reserved capacity, or on-premises GPUs.
AI coding assistants are gaining popularity among developers. While challenges remain in producing high-quality code, these tools promise significant productivity gains. A recent Stack Overflow survey indicated 76% of developers used or planned to use AI tools in their workflows.
Mistral Code leverages several in-house AI models: Codestral for code autocompletion, Codestral Embed for code search, Devstral for complex coding tasks, and Mistral Medium for chat assistance. The client supports over 80 programming languages and numerous third-party plugins. It can also analyze files, terminal outputs, and issues.
Enterprise Adoption and Future Development
Mistral reports that companies like Capgemini, Abanca, and SNCF are already using Mistral Code in production environments.
The platform allows customers to fine-tune or post-train the underlying models on private repositories. It also offers lightweight model variants. For IT managers, a comprehensive admin console provides granular control, observability, seat management, and usage analytics.
Mistral is committed to ongoing improvements for Mistral Code and plans to contribute back to the Continue open-source project.
About Mistral
Founded in 2023, Mistral is an AI model lab developing various AI-powered services, including the chatbot platform Le Chat and mobile apps. Backed by VCs including General Catalyst, Mistral has raised over €1.1 billion (approximately $1.24 billion) in funding.
Recently, Mistral launched the Codestral, Devstral, and Mistral Medium models. They also introduced Le Chat Enterprise, a chatbot service for businesses featuring an AI agent builder and integrations with services like Gmail, Google Drive, and SharePoint.
