On Monday, October 19, at the Invest in Germany Summit in Berlin, Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged German businesses, particularly small and medium-sized companies, to "open your doors for AI to make use of your data." According to CNBC, the federal government the same day signed a joint declaration of intent with Nvidia to advance AI models for industrial applications.
Merz named manufacturing, machinery and the automotive industry as priority sectors for integrating AI, describing the technology as a major opportunity for the economy. "This is a real secret and a real advantage for Germany to make use of all the data which is already available in our companies," he said, as quoted by CNBC. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said AI would strengthen rather than replace Germany's industrial capabilities.
Nvidia also announced planned investments in four German startups: Agile Robots, Avelios Medical, Mirelo and Reflex Aerospace. These are part of a commitment of nearly $10 billion to companies, universities and research institutions across Europe. Nvidia did not disclose the size of the German investments. Nvidia is also expanding its collaboration with the government's Industry 4.0 Platform, and Siemens separately said AI tools it developed with Nvidia at its Erlangen factory could reduce production-preparation engineering work by up to 85%, according to the company.
The report does not describe the terms, funding or binding obligations of the government declaration, and it does not quantify the public money involved. A photo caption refers to a "significant investment by Germany in powerful NVIDIA chips," but the article text gives no figure. Huang is scheduled to deliver a keynote in Berlin on Wednesday.
This dispatch is based on a public report by CNBC Europe. We label it reported; a report is not an independent confirmation.
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