Merz Nvidia AI deal to drive German industry revival

Chancellor Friedrich Merz used an industry summit in Berlin on Monday to urge Germany's businesses to embrace artificial intelligence, ahead of an expected Merz Nvidia AI deal with the American chip maker. Speaking alongside Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang at a red-carpet event marking the start of the summit, Merz said cooperation with Nvidia would be key to Germany's future success as the Merz Nvidia AI deal takes shape.

The summit was designed to attract investment into Europe's largest economy, with the Merz Nvidia AI deal as its centrepiece, and AI at the heart of efforts to revive growth and modernise industry. Faced with global competition targeting Germany's top auto, chemicals and engineering firms, Merz is under pressure to secure growth amid rising support for the far-right Alternative for Germany party.

Merz Nvidia AI deal anchors Berlin summit

Germany and Nvidia are expected to announce a partnership to promote AI in German industry at the summit, which continues on Tuesday. The German economy ministry has already signed a memorandum of understanding with Nvidia, the government said, without giving further details. The MoU formalises Nvidia's role in the country's AI ambitions and sets the stage for the Merz Nvidia AI deal to be unveiled.

We are in the midst of a fundamental economic and technological transformation fuelled by exponential progress in artificial intelligence, Merz said, telling business leaders: Please open your doors for AI to make use of your data. Huang pointed to the existing Nvidia Germany cooperation with carmakers like Mercedes-Benz, which is developing premium robotaxis using Nvidia software, as evidence that Nvidia's ties to German industry already run deep.

Merz Nvidia AI deal extends to startup bets

Huang also announced planned investments in German startups Agile Robots, Avelios Medical, Mirelo and Reflex Aerospace, Nvidia said in a blog post on Monday. The investments are part of Nvidia's nearly 10 billion dollar commitment to the technology ecosystem across Europe, underlining the scale of the AI investment the chip maker is directing at the continent.

The startup bets show how the partnership extends beyond headline agreements between governments and corporations. By funding robotics, medical AI, aerospace and mobility companies, Nvidia is embedding itself in the next generation of German manufacturing, from factory automation to healthcare and defence-adjacent technologies.

Germany eyes trillions in AI investment by 2035

The summit heard that Germany's investment pipeline could be enormous. A German group of companies and investors that includes Siemens and Deutsche Bank said in a report that it sees the potential for investment of up to 4.1 trillion euros, about 4.6 trillion dollars, in Germany by 2035 across areas including AI, energy and defence. That figure points to the scale of the opportunity the Merz Nvidia AI deal is designed to unlock.

A private sector business group, Made for Germany, said its members planned to invest more than 850 billion euros through 2028, after investing more than 200 billion euros in 2025. More companies and investors have been invited to join the initiative, which aims to channel private capital into industrial modernisation.

AI push amid economic and political pressure on Merz

The AI offensive comes as Friedrich Merz faces twin pressures: an economy in need of revival and a political landscape in which the far right is gaining ground. Positioning Germany as a leader in applied artificial intelligence offers a growth story that spans the country's industrial heartlands, from automotive plants to chemicals and engineering hubs.

Whether the Merz Nvidia AI deal and the wider summit pledges translate into lasting investment will depend on execution in the months ahead. For now, the message from Berlin is that German industry must open its doors to AI, and that the Nvidia Germany partnership will be central to the transformation.