French AI company Mistral says its newest model outperforms Chinese rivals on cybersecurity. CEO Arthur Mensch made the claim at a conference in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

Mensch said the model would be unveiled later in the day. He did not name the Chinese models it was tested against or say how the comparison was measured.

He pushed back against the idea that Europe cannot compete in the AI race. The three-year-old company is widely seen as Europe’s best contender, though it remains much smaller than US firms Anthropic and OpenAI.

Mistral raised 3 billion euros at a 21 billion euro valuation in a funding round in September. It last launched a model in April. The company presents itself as a safer, European alternative to US and Chinese systems.

Mensch said Mistral’s independence from the US and China is helping it grow fast in the Gulf and Asia-Pacific regions. He pointed to a strong desire for alternative technology suppliers in those markets.