In February, our MBA Class of 2024/25 team, representing Mistral AI, won the AI Wars competition for Stream 4 held during our Strategy class. We competed against peers representing Anthropic AI, Google, Meta, OpenAI, and xAI. We had the opportunity to present a robust AI strategy to our colleagues and panellists from the Cambridge network. Our roadmap involved positioning Mistral AI as a technology leader in the EU. With the rapid pace of AI, some of our strategies were surprisingly implemented in real life by Mistral!
Our MBA team member Eliott Fournet, has a software engineering background and was incredibly valuable throughout this process. His ability to break down complex technical concepts into simpler terms helped us better understand the intricacies of AI. More importantly, he was crucial in steering our research by recommending key areas to explore. His insights guided us in analysing industry competition, conducting a thorough SWOT analysis of the company, and making strategic decisions on which sector to target.
In addition, our team was encouraged to stay updated on industry trends by following AI-related news, particularly about Mistral AI. This helped us gain a deeper understanding of emerging players in the space and the competitive dynamics shaping the industry, ensuring our research was both relevant and well-informed. This was Aiden Rodd’s and Sanjana Neogi’s first deep dive into the tech industry after careers in the finance sector, and their understanding of technology accelerated due to the competition.
Our weekly discussions with investment bankers, roleplayed by other teams in our cohort, also proved to be instrumental in refining our approach. The various questions raised by our MBA peers pushed us to think more critically about different aspects of our case, such as supply chain risks, market risks, and other potential challenges the company might face. These discussions helped us strengthen our analysis, ensuring that we considered multiple perspectives and developed a more comprehensive strategy.
While many of our team members may not plan to enter the AI sector directly, this experience has deepened our interest in how AI intersects with different industries. Tsu Huey (Laura) Lim is keen to explore its applications in healthcare, where AI has the potential to drive innovation and improve patient outcomes. Shuyi Deng is interested in seeing how AI can accelerate productivity in the Product Management space and I am particularly excited about the potential of AI in driving FinTech adoption in underserved markets.
We thank our Cambridge Judge Professor, Chris Coleridge, for organising this event. We are grateful to the Cambridge network panellists and our MBA peers who helped refine our pitch. We look forward to continuing to learn about these intersections and understanding how AI can be leveraged to create meaningful impact.
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