There's something really cool about this but also something sad.

There was a time when CERN would have been establishing partnerships with US labs. The US is not a CERN member but has provided a lot of funding in the past despite it's observer status. These days funding is getting cut, the US is not as trusted as a partner anymore and a European partner is seen as important. This is sad.

That said I'm happy for Mistral and I'm sure they'll be a great partner for CERN.