Nvidia and Deutsche Telekom Launch €1 Billion AI Factory in Munich to Boost European AI Sovereignty

Nvidia, Deutsche Telekom strike €1B partnership for a data center in Munich | TechCrunch

Nvidia is playing fast and loose with its war chest as it looks to build on its momentum as the chief benefactor of the AI boom. The company on Tuesday signed a €1 billion ($1.15 billion) partnership with Deutsche Telekom to set up an "AI factory" in Munich that aims to boost Germany's AI computing power by 50%. Called the "Industrial AI Cloud," the project will use more than 1,000 Nvidia DGX B200 systems and RTX Pro Servers with up to 10,000 Blackwell GPUs to provide AI inferencing and other services to German companies while complying with German data sovereignty laws. Deutsche Telecom said early partners of the project include Agile Robots, whose bots will be used to install server racks at the facility, and Perplexity, which will use the data center to provide "in-country" AI inferencing to German users and companies. The telco also outlined digital twins and physics-based simulation as use cases for industrial companies. The telecom company said it would provide the physical infrastructure for the project, while SAP will provide its Business Technology platform and applications. The partnership comes at a time when the European tech industry has been calling on EU lawmakers to reduce their reliance on foreign infrastructure and service providers, and foster adoption of homegrown alternatives. At the same time, tech companies have been criticizing the bloc's approach to regulating AI, arguing that the rules only serve to hold back innovation. The EU earlier this year committed €200 billion to set up "AI gigafactories" on the continent, focusing on "industrial and mission-critical applications." But funding for AI initiatives in the European Union has been notably lower than in the U.S., where companies like Nvidia, Microsoft, Google, and Oracle have pumped in hundreds of billions to build massive data centers and assorted infrastructure to support development of AI models and services. Deutsche Telekom noted that this project, expected to start operations in early 2026, is separate from the EU's AI gigafactory initiative. "Mechanical engineering and industry have made this country strong," says Tim Höttges, CEO of Deutsche Telekom. "But here, too, we are challenged. AI is a huge opportunity. It will help to improve our products and strengthen our European strengths."

Deutsche Telekom and NVIDIA Launch Industrial AI Cloud -- a 'New Era' for Germany's Industrial Transformation

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang and Deutsche Telekom CEO Tim Höttges unveil the world's first AI factory for industry -- a sovereign, enterprise-grade Industrial AI Cloud platform. In Berlin on Tuesday, Deutsche Telekom and NVIDIA unveiled the world's first Industrial AI Cloud, a sovereign, enterprise-grade platform set to go live in early 2026. The partnership brings together Deutsche Telekom's trusted infrastructure and operations and NVIDIA AI and Omniverse digital twin platforms to power the AI era of Germany's industrial transformation. "We have to build a stack here in Germany which is enabling our industry to participate in this next-generation evolution of industrialization," Deutsche Telekom CEO Tim Höttges said. With this launch, Europe gains a new engine for industrial innovation -- based in Germany -- to accelerate sovereign AI development and deployment for enterprises and industries. "These computers, are the modern versions of factories," NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang said. "These are factories, just like factories of cars and all the industrial factories of Germany, these are factories of intelligence." At Berlin's historic Gasometer, federal ministers, technology leaders and partners came together to kick off Germany's push for industrial AI -- advancing the "Made for Germany" initiative to boost the country's competitiveness. "Manufacturing is extremely difficult... the work that is done here in Germany is done at such an extraordinary scale and precision, we have to have incredibly good AI," Huang said. It's AI made for Europe -- secure, compliant and ready to accelerate everything from digital twins to predictive maintenance. A Sovereign Foundation for the AI Age This isn't just a cloud -- it's a new kind of factory, producing digital intelligence to power Germany's industries. "In the future, in industry 4.0, with AI, every company that's a manufacturing company will have two factories, the factory for the car, and the factory for the AI that drives the car," Huang said. Industrial AI Cloud by Deutsche Telekom is Europe's first large-scale, sovereign AI platform delivering enterprise-grade performance. It opens up a direct path to sovereign AI -- secure, flexible and ready to help Europe compete and innovate. The platform harnesses state-of-the-art NVIDIA hardware -- including DGX B200 systems and RTX PRO Servers -- as well as software including NVIDIA AI Enterprise and NVIDIA Omniverse, fully integrated into Deutsche Telekom's cloud and network ecosystem. Built in German data centers and powered by up to 10,000 NVIDIA GPUs, the Industrial AI Cloud gives manufacturers, automakers, robotics, healthcare, energy and pharma leaders the compute muscles they need. Starting in early 2026, enterprises will gain early access to GPU capacity at scale, with contracts designed for speed and flexibility. This infrastructure will enable industry-specific AI solutions -- from digital twins and robotics, powered by platforms like NVIDIA Isaac and Omniverse, to predictive maintenance and molecular simulation at scale, including the training of next-generation foundation models using real production data. "This is the next industrial revolution in combination with your industries," Huang said. "[It] will turbocharge Industry 4.0. It's going to be enormously important, and I think it's going to be the beginning of a new phase of growth and innovation for Germany." Industry Leaders Join the Ecosystem Throughout the event, Germany's leaders showed how quickly the Industrial AI Cloud ecosystem is taking shape. * Höttges and Huang discussed the rationale for the partnership and its long-term ambitions for "Industrial AI made in Europe." * With Deutsche Telekom and NVIDIA providing the AI infrastructure, SAP CEO Christian Klein explained that SAP acts as the bridge between technology and industry, and that the SAP Business Technology Platform is the software‑defined backbone on which applications can be developed and operated securely, at scale and with openness. * Federal Minister for Digital Transformation and Government Modernization Karsten Wildberger and Federal Minister of Research, Technology and Space Dorothee Bär highlighted the Industrial AI Cloud's political relevance, positioning it as the first tangible outcome of the "Made for Germany" initiative and a foundational step in transforming the German economy. * Major partners, including Christian Sewing, co-initiator of the "Made for Germany" initiative, emphasized the platform's role in reshaping European manufacturing and the broader industry, and gave credit to one of the first flagship projects to be launched after the initiative was announced earlier this year. * Siemens will use the cloud platform to accelerate industrial AI adoption, including for its own services and to offer AI-powered solutions to customers and partners. Automakers like Mercedes-Benz and BMW will use the Industrial AI Cloud to run complex simulations with AI-driven digital twins, dramatically speeding up vehicle development, according to Siemens. Live demos showcased practical applications of the technology -- customers like Agile Robots' H10-W waved from the stage, and Wandelbots showed how AI-powered robotics are already working on factory floors. Agile Robots will use the Industrial AI cloud as a highly scalable and efficient computing infrastructure capable of generating and curating vast, complex datasets. By incorporating NVIDIA Omniverse libraries, they'll expand their efforts to train, test and validate robotic foundation models for entire fleets of robots. Wandelbots NOVA will run on the Industrial AI cloud to modernize factories, using digital twins and simulation to bring AI-driven testing, training, optimization and deployment to factory floors.

Nvidia, Deutsche Telekom unveil 1-bn-euro AI industrial hub

Berlin (AFP) - US tech giant Nvidia and Deutsche Telekom said Tuesday a one-billion-euro ($1.1 billion) industrial artificial intelligence hub will soon be launched in Germany, Europe's latest bid to catch up in the global AI race. The centre will enable companies in Europe, from major organisations to startups, to use AI in processes ranging from design to robotics via "secure" IT infrastructure on the continent, Germany's biggest telecoms operator said. The move marks an attempt by Europe to make up lost ground in the battle for AI dominance, with the United States and China currently in the lead. It also comes amid a growing focus in Europe on so-called "data sovereignty" -- ensuring citizens' and industrial data is stored at home, where it can be protected under local laws, rather than handed over to foreign tech firms. "Germany's engineering and industrial strengths are legendary, and now it's being supercharged by AI," said Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at a Berlin launch event for the project, which is due to go live in the first quarter of 2026. Industry in Germany, Europe's biggest economy, is especially concerned about speeding up adoption of AI to ensure it can keep pace internationally. Deutsche Telekom boss Timotheus Hoettges said that "AI is a huge opportunity" at a time Germany, which has been mired in recession for two years, was facing challenges. "It will help to improve our products." 'Data protection' The centre, based in the southern city of Munich, will be powered by thousands of Nvidia's advanced AI chips and provide about 50 percent more power for AI in Germany, according to Deutsche Telekom. The telecommunications operator is providing the physical infrastructure while German firm SAP is supplying the software platforms, including AI technologies, to run the site. The centre will "guarantee the highest standards of data protection, security and reliability", Deutsche Telekom said. German industrial conglomerate Siemens, a partner in the project, said it will use the new centre to boost its own AI capabilities and to offer enhanced software services to clients. Its customers like auto giants Mercedes-Benz and BMW will be able to conduct complex AI-powered simulations to help develop their vehicles, Siemens said. Europe has in recent times stepped up its AI efforts. The continent's fastest supercomputer Jupiter was inaugurated in September in Germany, with researchers saying it could boost efforts to train AI models. Worries about "data sovereignty", and particularly an overreliance on US tech giants, have escalated since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House this year. Ties have frayed between the United States and Europe across a range of issues, including EU tech regulations, which Trump has repeatedly criticised. In September, SAP called on Europe to catch up with the United States and build up its digital capabilities, stressing it was important that firms on the continent could rely on local IT services. "We cannot wait five years," SAP board member Thomas Saueressig said. "Europe is far behind."

Nvidia, Deutsche Telekom unveil plans for $1 billion AI centre

US tech giant Nvidia and Deutsche Telekom on Tuesday announced plans to launch a $1.1 billion industrial AI cloud centre early next year, billed as a "secure and sovereign" infrastructure project. US tech giant Nvidia and Deutsche Telekom on Tuesday announced plans to launch a one-billion-euro ($1.1 billion) industrial AI cloud centre early next year, billed as a "secure and sovereign" infrastructure project. Deutsche Telekom said the "AI factory" would enable companies in Germany and Europe "to develop, train and use AI for every manufacturing application from design to robotics via a secure and sovereign IT infrastructure". The site in the southern German city of Munich, would be powered by thousands of Nvidia's advanced artificial intelligence chips and is set to go into operation in the first quarter of 2026. "Germany's engineering and industrial strengths are legendary, and now it's being supercharged by AI," said Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at a launch event for the project in Berlin. Deutsche Telekom, Germany's biggest telecommunications operator, is providing the physical infrastructure while German firm SAP is supplying the software platforms, including AI technologies, to run the site. The announcement comes with Europe scrambling to catch up in the AI race with the United States and China, which have made huge strides in developing AI models. Concerns are also growing in Europe about "data sovereignty" by ensuring that citizens' data is stored at home, rather than overseas by US tech giants.

Nvidia, Deutsche Telekom to Build Large Data Center in Europe

Nvidia and Deutsche Telekom plan to build one of the biggest artificial-intelligence data centers in Europe, the German telecommunications group said Tuesday, as it looks to bolster the country's AI capabilities. The joint data center in Munich is expected to boost AI computing power in Germany by around 50%, Deutsche Telekom said. German companies will be able to use the facilities to book and use computing power of the data centers, it said. It will be an expanded renovation of an existing center, with the server park spanning several thousand square meters, beginning in the first quarter of 2026, Deutsche Telekom said. It plans to host up to 10,000 Nvidia Blackwell Graphics Processing Units, which are circuits that power the creation of images and videos. "We're bringing Nvidia AI and robotics to start a new era of Germany's industrial transformation," Jensen Huang, founder and chief executive of Nvidia, said. The development of the expansive AI data center, called the Industrial AI Cloud, will provide secure AI computing capacity, Deutsche Telekom said.