Germany wants smaller companies to benefit from its physical AI model initiative with NVIDIA, extending its industrial AI ambitions beyond a cloud infrastructure project announced in 2025.
The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) signed the Oct. 19 declaration of intent. The Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) was the other government signatory. The declaration seeks to advance models for physical AI; specialized, open industrial models are one focus. The government identified NVIDIA Nemotron and NVIDIA Cosmos as possible starting points for that work.
Germany says the proposed models should draw on industrial data, manufacturing expertise and engineering expertise. It has cited productivity, competitiveness and technological sovereignty as goals. Small and medium-sized companies are among the intended beneficiaries, though the models remain a proposed effort.
The government plans to involve those companies through Plattform Industrie 4.0, a network connecting policymakers, businesses, researchers and trade groups. It also wants researchers and industry to take part in the model effort.
NVIDIA and Deutsche Telekom announced a separate industrial AI cloud in 2025. That project envisioned computing infrastructure developed with German industry. The Oct. 19 declaration addresses model development; the public announcements did not specify a funding amount or delivery timetable.
Handelsblatt reported on Oct. 15 that an earlier proposal for a state-backed industrial AI partnership envisaged public investment in the hundreds of millions of euros. It said Berlin was expected to cover computing capacity and model training through Deutsche Telekom’s cloud. The figure was part of that reported proposal, not a funding amount announced with the declaration.
NVIDIA said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged companies at a Berlin event to let AI systems use their data. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang said AI would add to Germany’s industrial capabilities. The government’s stated next step is to bring researchers, industry and smaller companies into the model effort through Plattform Industrie 4.0.
