Mistral And TotalEnergies Announce Partnership To Drive Energy Innovation With AI - 1

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Mistral And TotalEnergies Announce Partnership To Drive Energy Innovation With AI

  • Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert
  • Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager

The French giant TotalEnergies announced this week a new partnership with the startup Mistral AI to drive energy innovation through artificial intelligence. The collaboration will focus on the development and optimization of low-carbon energy solutions.

In a rush? Here are the quick facts:

  • The French giant TotalEnergies and the startup Mistral AI announced a new partnership to innovate and optimize energy consumption.
  • The companies will focus on low-carbon solutions and the development of technologies to reduce CO₂ emissions.
  • The partners plan to establish a joint lab staffed by employees from both companies to combine their expertise, without building a physical facility.

According to a press release , the two companies will establish a joint innovation lab staffed by experts from both organizations. TotalEnergies—which operates in over 120 countries—will contribute its extensive energy sector expertise, while Mistral AI will bring its advanced AI capabilities—the startup recently launched its first reasoning model, Magistral .

The partners aim to deliver cutting-edge digital solutions by developing multiple projects, such as an AI assistant to support researchers on their mission to reduce TotalEnergy’s environmental footprint. TotalEnergies also highlights its plan on building decision-support solutions to lower its CO₂ emissions and improve customer experiences.

“We are delighted to work with Mistral AI, a leading French player in artificial intelligence. This deal reflects our intention to contribute to the emergence of a technological ecosystem in Europe, and will allow us to explore new opportunities to further embed AI into our activities,” said Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies.

“AI has huge potential to transform energy systems, and this partnership was motivated by our pioneering spirit and ongoing search for innovation.”

TotalEnergies founded its Digital Factory five years ago, and 300 employees—including data scientists and experts—have already been working with AI to develop new solutions. However, with the participation of Mistral AI, the company expects to develop and expand its AI efforts to accelerate innovation in the energy sector.

According to Reuters , the collaboration is already underway, as they have already held meetings in their labs. For now, there are no plans to build a new physical lab as they aim to use existing locations.

Arthur Mensch, Chief Executive Officer at Mistral AI, shared his interest in combining forces to assist TotalEnergies on an optimized digital transition. “This partnership illustrates the positive impact generative AI can have on a sector as strategic as that of TotalEnergies,” said Mensch.

Google Ads Used To Spread Fake DeepSeek Malware - 2

Image by Solen Feyissa, from Unsplash

Google Ads Used To Spread Fake DeepSeek Malware

  • Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
  • Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager

Cybersecurity researchers have identified a dangerous new malware campaign, which targets users of the popular AI chatbot DeepSeek-R1.

In a rush? Here are the quick facts:

  • Fake DeepSeek-R1 websites are spreading malware through Google Ads.
  • Victims download a malicious installer disguised as a chatbot.
  • Malware installs “BrowserVenom,” which hijacks and monitors web traffic

Cybersecurity researchers at Kaspersky report that attackers are using Google Ads to promote a fake version of the site, taking advantage of the model’s popularity to trick users into downloading harmful software.

The malicious ad directs users to ‘‘deepseek-platform[.]com’’ – a fake website that mimics the official DeepSeek site. Users who click the “Try now” button are presented with a fake CAPTCHA before being asked to download what appears to be the DeepSeek installer. The file, named ‘‘AI_Launcher_1.21.exe’’, is actually a sophisticated malware chain.

The installer opens a second fake CAPTCHA, then offers to install known AI tools like Ollama and LM Studio. But in the background, it runs hidden code that begins the infection. First, it tries to bypass antivirus software by excluding the user’s folder from Windows Defender. Then, it attempts to download more malware from another untrustworthy domain.

The final payload, known as BrowserVenom, modifies browser configurations to redirect all web traffic through proxy servers operated by the attackers. This allows them to monitor user data and online activities. The malware adds a fake certificate to the system while modifying browser shortcuts and settings in Firefox and Tor.

The researchers note that he attack has already targeted users in Brazil, Cuba, Mexico, India, Nepal, South Africa, and Egypt.

“As we have been reporting, DeepSeek has been the perfect lure for attackers to attract new victims,” researchers said. They warn users to double-check website URLs and certificates before downloading software, even from search results, to avoid falling into these traps.