The founder of French AI startup Mistral on Thursday pushed back against criticism from the Pope over the use of AI in warfare, saying Europe must be able to protect itself as rivals deploy the technology.

"We're all for peace, but if you look at our rivals and adversaries in the world, they're using artificial intelligence As long as we have adversaries that are threatening, and they are threatening, we do need to have our own capabilities," Mistral CEO and co-founder Arthur Mensch said.

The company also announced a new data centre in Les Ulis, France.

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Pope Leo issued a document on Monday, urging international regulation to curb the development of AI systems, warning they could spread misinformation and risk fuelling perpetual conflict. He also criticised the use of AI in warfare.

Asked about the comments, Mistral defended AI's use in military contexts. The company provides AI models to the French military.

Mistral also announced plans for a new data centre in Les Ulis with 10 megawatts of computing power, due to open in the third quarter of 2026.

Mistral has already announced two other data centres, in Sweden and France, as part of a €4 billion investment plan to reach 200 MW of computing power by the end of 2027.

Data centre projects are facing local opposition around the world, including in France.

Asked about videos showing students booing executives discussing AI at U.S. graduation ceremonies, Mensch said: "I think there is some expected anguish around artificial intelligence, in that it’s profoundly changing the way people are working.".

"It's not the first time that people are a bit anguished at something coming up. But we'll be fine. We'll find a way to use it efficiently," he added.