Germany and NVIDIA plan industrial AI initiative

Germany’s federal government and NVIDIA signed a Joint Declaration of Intent to advance AI models for physical AI, combining German engineering and manufacturing expertise with research and technology. Chancellor Friedrich Merz and NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang discussed the initiative in Berlin, emphasizing applications across manufacturing, machinery and automotive businesses.

Merz urged small and medium-sized companies, known as the Mittelstand, to use their existing business data to support AI adoption. Huang said the technology could augment Germany’s industrial knowledge rather than replace it. The collaboration also expands NVIDIA’s work with the government and its Industry 4.0 Platform, aiming to broaden industrial deployment and strengthen Europe’s technology ecosystem.

Huang announced planned investments in four German startups: Agile Robots, Avelios Medical, Mirelo and Reflex Aerospace. Their businesses span robotics, hospital information systems, AI-generated audio and satellite manufacturing. NVIDIA has also backed German companies including n8n, Neura Robotics and Black Forest Labs.

Siemens separately showcased AI-driven manufacturing technology at its Erlangen factory through its partnership with NVIDIA. It reported that fully virtual production ramp-up reduces engineering effort by up to 85%, while agent-based production planning enables cost savings of up to 20%. NVIDIA researchers also used the JUPITER supercomputer at the Jülich Supercomputing Centre for a 104-qubit simulation of a fault-tolerant quantum computer, described as the largest and most detailed of its kind.