Nvidia announced planned German startup investments under a nearly $10 billion European commitment to support companies, universities and research institutions, the chipmaker said in an Oct. 19 blog post.
The company linked the investments to wider cooperation with Germany on industrial artificial intelligence. It did so in “Germany Wants to Lead the World in Industrial AI: How NVIDIA Will Help.” Nvidia, which sells AI computing technology, said the government signed a declaration to develop a joint initiative.
The declaration covers work on advanced models for physical AI, technology used in machines that interact with the physical world, the company said. Germany aims to combine its engineering and manufacturing knowledge with AI research and technology, Nvidia said.
Nvidia founder and Chief Executive Jensen Huang announced planned investments in Agile Robots, Avelios Medical, Mirelo and Reflex Aerospace, the company said. Nvidia described them as part of its European commitment but gave no individual investment amounts or completion dates.
The company said its existing investments in Germany include workflow software company n8n, Neura Robotics and Black Forest Labs. The new plans extend its backing to businesses working in robotics, hospital software, audio generation and satellites, Nvidia said.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Huang discussed expanding AI use among manufacturers and small and medium-sized businesses at Berlin's former Kraftwerk power station, Nvidia said. The discussion drew on Germany's industrial expertise, with Huang describing relationships dating to the early 2000s.
Merz said smaller companies could help expand adoption by making use of their existing data, Nvidia said. Huang said Germany's manufacturing knowledge and strengths in mathematics and science would support that effort.
“AI can only augment your capability, it will not replace your capability,” Huang said, according to the company. Merz said he wanted to meet Huang at least annually to review Germany's progress.
Nvidia also said Siemens announced a partnership with it to develop autonomous factories and demonstrated AI systems at its Erlangen plant. Siemens said starting production virtually can reduce engineering work by up to 85%, while AI-based production planning can cut costs by up to 20%.
Those figures describe potential reductions of up to the amounts given, rather than savings across German manufacturing. Nvidia supplied no measurement period or underlying data for the Siemens figures in the blog post.
Agile Robots builds machines for manufacturing, logistics and healthcare, while Avelios Medical develops hospital information software, Nvidia said. Mirelo develops models that generate audio for video, and Reflex Aerospace builds satellites, the company said.
