NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang urged German carmakers and machinery producers to adopt artificial intelligence quickly, saying the technology could help reshape the country's industrial economy. Speaking alongside Chancellor Friedrich Merz at a Berlin investment conference on Monday,
Huang called for companies to combine AI with Germany's manufacturing expertise and data. He argued that new tools could improve production without replacing the nation's strengths in engineering, vehicles and industrial equipment.
Huang described physical AI as the next stage of artificial intelligence, with systems that operate in the real world. He pointed to robots, vehicles, factories and heavy machinery as areas where the technology could support established industrial work.
The NVIDIA chief said computing advances would not eliminate the need for factories or engineered products. Instead, he urged companies to apply software and AI to tasks that depend on their practical knowledge. His message focused on using digital tools to expand industrial capabilities rather than abandon them.
Huang also identified Germany's vast manufacturing data and specialist expertise as key resources for the country. He described that data as a national resource. He urged German firms to use that knowledge to teach AI systems and retain the resulting capabilities in Germany.
He said the new industrial era presents a major opportunity and pressed companies to respond before it passes. The call came as German leaders seek ways to revive an economy struggling to gain momentum.
Merz has made renewed growth a priority following years of weak economic performance after the pandemic. Germany's export-oriented economy depends heavily on cars, trains, aircraft and factory equipment. Yet higher operating costs, changing competition and lengthy project approvals have complicated that model.
Energy prices remain a concern after Germany lost access to cheap Russian natural gas following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. At the same time, Chinese companies have increased competition in industries such as automobiles. Administrative requirements can also delay business projects for years, adding to pressure on manufacturers.
Against that backdrop, Merz and Huang pointed to Germany's Mittelstand, its network of small and medium-sized specialist industrial companies. These firms possess deep expertise in narrow fields of production. Both leaders presented artificial intelligence as a tool these businesses could bring into their existing operations.
Germany's smaller suppliers and equipment makers also hold detailed production knowledge. Huang's proposal would place that expertise at the heart of developing AI tools for the industrial sector.
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The push comes as European governments examine both the growth potential of AI and their dependence on American technology companies. NVIDIA supplies powerful chips and software that support developers including OpenAI and Anthropic. Europe, meanwhile, trails the United States in building major data centers for AI training.
That gap has raised concerns about where European businesses store sensitive information. Data hosted by American companies could fall under US legal demands even when the servers sit in Europe. Such concerns have become part of wider discussions over how the region develops and controls AI systems.
Former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi has identified Europe's public-sector and machine-readable industrial data as a possible competitive strength. The continent could use those resources to pursue AI applications suited to its own industries. For Germany, manufacturing offers a clear source of such information.
Huang encouraged Germany to import AI technology while keeping control of its expertise, knowledge and values. He called for German businesses to train systems using their own industrial experience and keep that work in the country. His appeal linked wider AI adoption with the protection of local knowledge and industrial strengths.
Huang urged Germany to use artificial intelligence to strengthen its manufacturing base rather than replace it. Merz also views the technology as a potential source of growth. Yet high costs, global competition and concerns over control of industrial data remain central to Europe's wider AI debate.