Germany signs a joint declaration of intent with Nvidia on physical AI, and Nvidia names four German start-ups it will invest in

Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Nvidia's chief executive Jensen Huang met in Berlin on 19 October. Nvidia's blog post of that day says that at the Invest in Germany Summit, Merz, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and the Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space “signed a Joint Declaration of Intent with NVIDIA”. The declaration commits them to a joint initiative on advanced AI models for physical AI, the AI that runs robots, machines and vehicles. Nvidia says it also formalises and expands its work with Germany's Industry 4.0 Platform. On 17 October the Switchboard ran Reuters' report that the deal was coming; this is the signing.

Huang announced new investments in four German start-ups: Agile Robots (robotics), Avelios Medical (hospital software), Mirelo (AI sound for video) and Reflex Aerospace (satellites). Nvidia calls them part of “a nearly $10 billion commitment by NVIDIA” to companies across Europe, not Germany alone, and gives no size for the German stakes. The post gives no GPU count and no euro sum. TNW reports that the economy ministry has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Nvidia but has given no further details.

The post also says Siemens and Nvidia are working together on AI-driven autonomous factories; Siemens' claim of up to 85% less engineering effort is the companies' own. Merz told the summit: “The biggest advantage we have in Germany is our so-called Mittelstand,” meaning its mid-sized firms. Huang gives the keynote at GTC Berlin on 21 October.

• Confirmed Merz, the economy ministry and the research ministry signed a Joint Declaration of Intent with Nvidia for a joint initiative on AI models for physical AI. Nvidia blog
• Claimed Nvidia plans investments in Agile Robots, Avelios Medical, Mirelo and Reflex Aerospace, as part of a nearly $10bn commitment across Europe; the amounts are not given. Nvidia blog
• Reported The economy ministry has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Nvidia but has given no further details, TNW reports. TNW