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Mistral’s Voxtral goes beyond transcription with summarization, speech-triggered functions

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Mistral released an open-sourced voice model today that could rival paid voice AI, such as those from ElevenLabs and Hume AI, which the company said bridges the gap between proprietary speech recognition models and the more open, yet error-prone versions. 

Voxtral, which Mistral will release under an Apache 2.0 license, is available in a 24B parameter version and a 3B variant. The larger model is intended for applications at scale, while the smaller version would work for local and edge use cases. 

“Voice was humanity’s first interface—long before writing or typing, it let us share ideas, coordinate work, and build relationships. As digital systems become more capable, voice is returning as our most natural form of human-computer interaction,” Mistral said in a blog post. “Yet today’s systems remain limited—unreliable, proprietary, and too brittle for real-world use. Closing this gap demands tools with exceptional transcription, deep understanding, multilingual fluency, and open, flexible deployment.”

Voxtral is available on Mistral’s API and a transcription-only endpoint on its website. The models are also accessible through Le Chat, Mistral’s chat platform. 


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Mistral said that speech AI “meant choosing between two trade-offs,” pointing out that some open-source automated speech recognition models often had limited semantic understanding. Still, closed models with strong language understanding come at a high cost. 

Bridging the gap

The company said Voxtral “offers state-of-the-art accuracy and native semantic understanding in the open, at less than half the price of comparable APIs.” 

Voxtral, at a 32K token context, can listen to and transcribe up to 30 minutes of audio or 40 minutes of audio understanding. It offers summarization, meaning the model can answer questions based on the audio content and generate summaries without switching to a separate mode. Users can trigger functions and API calls based on spoken instructions.

The model is based on Mistral’s Mistral Small 3.1. It supports multiple languages and can automatically detect languages such as English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Hindi, German, Italian, and Dutch. 

Mistral added enterprise features to Voxtral, including private deployment, so that organizations can integrate the model into their own ecosystems. These features also include domain-specific fine-tuning and advanced context and priority access to engineering resources for customers who need help integrating Voxtral into their workflows. 

Performance 

Speech recognition AI is now available on many platforms today. Users can speak to ChatGPT, and the platform will process spoken instructions similarly to written prompts. Fast food chains like White Castle have deployed SoundHound to their drive-thru services, and ElevenLabs has steadily been improving its multimodal platform. The open-source space also offers powerful options. Nari Labs, a startup, released the open-source speech model Dia in April. However, some of these services can be quite expensive.

Transcription services like Otter and Read.ai can now embed themselves into Zoom meetings, recording, summarizing and even alerting users to actionable items. Many online video meeting platforms offer not just transcription, but also speech AI and agentic AI, with Google Meetings providing the option to take notes for users using Gemini. As a regular user of voice transcription services, I can say firsthand that speech recognition AI is not perfect, but it is improving.

Mistral stated that Voxtral outperformed existing voice models, including OpenAI’s Whisper, Gemini 2.5 Flash and Scribe from ElevenLabs. Voxtral presented fewer word errors compared to Whisper, which is currently considered the best automatic speech recognition model available. 

In terms of audio understanding, Voxtral Small is “competitive with GPT-4o-mini and Gemini 2.5 Flash across all tasks, achieving state-of-the-art performance in Speech Translation.”

Since announcing Voxtral, social media users said they have been waiting for an open-source speech model that can match the performance of Whisper. 

Mistral said Voxtral will be available through its API at $0.001 per minute. 



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Funding & Investment in Travel

New travel fees for Brits heading to Mallorca

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British travellers will soon need to fork out 7€ for an ETIAS permit to visit popular holiday destinations like Spain though the system’s implementation has been pushed back to 2027. The fee will only apply to tourists aged between 18 and 70, whilst younger and older visitors won’t face any charges.

The European Commission’s latest timeline reveals that the new travel requirement won’t come into force until late 2026, with a grace period extending into April 2027. This delay is tied to the rollout of the Entry/Exit System (EES), another crucial border control measure being introduced by the EU.

The EES digital border system, set to replace passport stamping, will begin its phased implementation in October 2025. EU member states will have a six-month window to gradually adopt the new procedures, with biometric data collection – including fingerprints and facial scans – becoming mandatory from January 2026.

How will the new system work?

The ETIAS travel permit will be electronically linked to passengers’ passports and remain valid for three years or until passport expiration. It’ll allow multiple short stays of up to 90 days within any 180-day period across 30 European countries, though having a permit won’t guarantee entry.

Key dates for British tourists

  • October 2025: EES phased rollout begins
  • January 2026: Mandatory biometric data collection starts
  • October 2026: ETIAS introduction expected
  • April 2027: Full enforcement of ETIAS
  • October 2027: Complete compliance required

The system will cover the entire Schengen area, including popular destinations like Spain. British passport holders will need to provide biometric data when crossing these borders once the system is fully operational.



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Jelly Ko expands refill options on the back of strong sales and demand

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The in-house brand of Style Story, an Australia-based online retailer of South Korean beauty products, has added a fourth refill product to its portfolio.

Its global bestseller, Bubble Tea Steam Cream, recently joined Dewy Glaze Toner, Be Jelly Overnight Dream Serum, and White Truffle Souffle Serum in having a 50ml version.

“Bubble Tea Steam Cream is the product that put Jelly Ko on the map, and it is now available in a convenient refill pouch that’s perfect for topping up your empty jar or packing in your carry-on luggage.

“Refills are performing really well for us. Last month, across our sales channels, refill packs made up almost 40% of total sales for Bubble Tea Steam Cream, which is our hero SKU and most repurchased product. That is a huge adoption rate and shows that customers are not only repurchasing, but actively opting for the more sustainable option,” Lauren Lee, founder of Jelly Ko and Style Story, told CosmeticsDesign-Asia.

In fact, the travel-friendliness of the refill packs was pointed out to Lee by customers.

“Many started using the refill packs as travel companions because they are resealable, lightweight, and easy to pack due to its flat packaging. It wasn’t actually something that we realised when we originally designed them, but now that we’ve seen how people are using them, we have adopted that into our messaging as well.

“It makes sense because traditional cosmetics can be bulky, breakable, heavy, and just a bit annoying to cart around, even if they are travel-sized. These refill packs take all the fuss out of travelling with your go-to skin care products.”

Going forward, Jelly Ko plans to continue growing its refillable offerings.

“We will be adding a refill version for our Cherry Blossom Sleeping Mask, which will also double as a travel pack, in the next production run. As for dedicated travel-sized products, we are not planning any at this stage. We currently offer sachet samples and these refill packs, which fill the gap for now.”

Smooth like bubble

Jelly Ko’s Bubble Tea Steam Creamis claimed to be the world’s first bubble tea skin care, which has sold out six times since its launch in 2020.

Infused with collagen, panthenol, probiotics, squalane, and four types of hyaluronic acid, it is a nourishing yet lightweight moisturiser that “replaces oil, serum and cream in one step”.

Inspired by the popular beverage, this cream is fast-absorbing, and delivers deep hydration and buttery-soft smoothness targeted at improving dark spots, blemishes, and visible signs of ageing.

According to the brand, it helps to refine texture and tone for all skin types and ages; smooths and firms skin for a more even, radiant complexion; and does not contain additives, such as artificial fragrances, dyes, sulphates and parabens, that may trigger reactions.

In addition, the newly launched refillable pouch is said to use 90% less plastic, glass and paper, contributing to reduction of carbon emissions and packaging waste.



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Cambodia’s Government Advances Travel to the sea with the Funan Techo Canal Project

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In a significant move to enhance connectivity and promote travel from Siem Reap to the sea, the Royal Government of Cambodia is championing the development of the Funan Techo Canal. This initiative aims to facilitate smoother transportation for citizens and boost the nation’s economic prospects.

During the inauguration of the Senior Technical Officer of the Senior Technical Officers’ Framework as Head of the Siem Reap Province Department of Public Works and Transport on July 16, 2025, H.E. Peng Po Nea, Minister of Public Works and Transport, articulated the government’s vision for this ambitious project. “We are committed to ensuring that travel from Siem Reap to the sea via the Funan Techo Canal becomes a reality,” he stated, emphasizing that the project is on track for completion.

The Funan Techo Canal, measuring 180 kilometers in length, officially broke ground on August 5, 2024. Spanning four provinces—Kandal, Takeo, Kampot, and Kep—the canal is designed to support vessels weighing up to 3,000 DWT, enhancing trade and tourism capabilities in the region.

H.E. Peng Po Nea further underscored that the development of waterways aligns with the government’s policy to transform Cambodia into a high-income country by 2050. “This initiative reflects our visionary leadership and aims to integrate public works and transportation, connecting urban and rural areas to streamline travel for all citizens,” he added. (Read more)

As Cambodia moves forward with this transformative infrastructure project, the Funan Techo Canal is set to play a vital role in fostering economic growth and improving the quality of life for its citizens.

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