Mistral drops Voxtral Transcribe 2, an open-source speech model that runs on-device for pennies

Mistral AI, the Paris-based startup positioning itself as Europe's answer to OpenAI, released a pair of speech-to-text models on Wednesday that the company says can transcribe audio faster, more accurately, and far more cheaply than anything else on the market — all while running entirely on a smartphone or laptop.The announcement marks the latest salvo in an increasingly competitive battle over voice AI, a technology that enterprise customers see as essential for everything from automated customer service to real-time translation. But unlike offerings from American tech giants, Mistral's new Voxtral Transcribe 2 models are designed to process sensitive audio without ever transmitting it to remote servers — a feature that could prove decisive for companies in regulated industries like heal