By Roman Aglaganov
Germany’s government has signed a joint declaration of intent with Nvidia to develop AI for industry. Chancellor Friedrich Merz and the federal economy and research ministries signed it at the Invest in Germany Summit in Berlin, which opened on 19 October, with Nvidia’s chief executive Jensen Huang in attendance.
What they agreed
Physical AI: the parties commit to a joint initiative on advanced models for “physical AI”, meaning robots, factories and autonomous vehicles. According to the German government, the models will be built on German data and industrial know-how.
Industry 4.0: the declaration formalises Nvidia’s work with the government’s Industry 4.0 Platform, its long-running programme for digital manufacturing.
Companies: around a dozen German firms are expected to take part, including Siemens, Audi and Black Forest Labs, according to the government’s announcement before the signing. Siemens used the summit to show AI-planned production at its Erlangen factory.
Money: no funding figure, timetable or contract has been published. A declaration of intent sets out a shared goal; the binding details come later.
Nvidia also announced stakes in four German startups: Agile Robots, Avelios Medical, Mirelo and Reflex Aerospace. It says they are part of a commitment of nearly $10 billion to companies and research across Europe.
What was said
Merz said Germany’s biggest advantage is its Mittelstand, the mid-sized manufacturers, and urged them to “open your doors for AI” and put their data to use. Huang told the audience that “AI can only augment your capability, it will not replace your capability.”
Why it matters
Europe has struggled to compete on chatbots, but it has something American labs lack: decades of factory data and the engineers who understand it. The details are still to come. But the declaration signals that Berlin wants its AI strategy built around what German industry already does well, with an American chip supplier as a partner.
