German government partnering with Nvidia on industrial AI

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang talk during the 'Red Carpet for Investments' event as part of the Invest in Germany Summit in Berlin. (EPA Images pic) BERLIN: The German government announced a partnership on Monday with US chipmaking giant Nvidia aimed at accelerating the development of artificial intelligence for industrial applications.

The partnership, which was signed during an investment summit in Berlin, is intended to help develop "cutting-edge" industrial AI models that draw upon German data and industrial expertise, according to the government statement.

The value of investment behind the partnership was not disclosed, nor was the deal mentioned during a public talk between Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at the investment event in Berlin on Monday.

But the business daily Handelsblatt reports that it could amount to several hundred million dollars.

The goal is to systematically embed industrial AI into large-scale applications and to establish a top-tier industrial AI ecosystem in Europe," the German government stated.

The statement said that a network of policymakers, industry leaders, researchers, and trade associations would be created.

While US-based companies currently lead the development of large-scale generative AI models, Merz said on Monday that Germany aims to capitalise on its traditional strengths in high-end industrial manufacturing to establish a leading position in AI applications designed for factory environments.

"The next wave of AI is physical AI," Huang said at his appearance alongside Merz on Monday, adding that the technology would "augment" German industrial expertise rather than replace it.

Developing such models requires vast volumes of data generated from production lines, something many leading traditional German industrial firms have been reluctant to share.

But Merz appealed to German companies – particularly speciality mid-sized firms that play a key role in the country's economy – to share more of their data for building AI applications.

"Please, open your doors for AI to make use of your data. This is so decisive for the German future," the chancellor said.

This appeal came at the opening of a summit hosted by Merz aimed at drawing more foreign investment to Germany.

Merz's government has been seeking to revive growth and draw more investment in Europe's largest economy, which has faced several years of relative stagnation and an erosion of its industrial competitiveness.

"We are in the midst of a fundamental economic and technological transformation, fuelled by exponential progress in artificial intelligence," Merz said on Monday.

But Merz added that Europe is also "facing the strongest economic and geopolitical headwinds in generations", citing the ongoing war in Ukraine, conflicts in the Middle East, turmoil in global energy markets and other upheavals.