At a Berlin event, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang discussed the country's goal of becoming a world leader in industrial AI. Earlier that day, the German federal government signed a Joint Declaration of Intent with NVIDIA, formalizing a partnership to merge traditional engineering and manufacturing strength with AI research. The initiative will focus on physical AI and expand collaboration with Germany's Industry 4.0 Platform.
Merz highlighted the Mittelstand, Germany's small and medium-sized enterprises, as the country's biggest advantage, urging them to make use of their data. Huang agreed, saying AI can only augment the knowledge held by German manufacturers, not replace it. Both leaders pointed to Germany's expertise in physical technologies as a key differentiator for its economy.
NVIDIA also announced planned investments in four German startups: Agile Robots, Avelios Medical, Mirelo, and Reflex Aerospace. These investments are part of a nearly $10 billion commitment by NVIDIA across Europe. Separately, Siemens and NVIDIA are partnering on autonomous manufacturing, with NVIDIA reporting potential engineering effort reductions of up to 85% and cost savings of up to 20% in production planning.