Özdemir calls for billions for AI research at the Tübingen AI Center!

Özdemir calls for billions for AI research at the Tübingen AI Center!

Federal Research Minister Cem Özdemir visited the Tübingen AI Center on March 14, 2025 and emphasized the importance of technological sovereignty in AI research. Accompanied by the Science Minister of Baden-Württemberg, Petra Olschowski, Özdemir came to appreciate the progress and initiatives of the important research institution. The Tübingen AI Center, a joint facility of the University of Tübingen and the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, is permanently funded by both the federal and state governments. The aim is to develop AI “Made in Europe” and thereby strengthen European competitiveness.

The center is viewed as an example of successful research and innovation. A highlight of the visit was the presentation of an innovative AI solution for personalized education. The Tübingen AI Center is also part of the OpenEuroLLM consortium, which is developing an open source language model for all European languages. In this regard, the Polybot harvesting robot project, which has been funded by the Federal Agency for Leap Innovations (SPRIND) since February, is also supported.

Research and development in focus

Matthias Bethge, the director of the Tübingen AI Center, called for one billion euros per year for AI investments in order to further increase innovative power. He spoke out in favor of promoting top teams and flexible provision of computing capacity. At the European level, the creation of additional ELLIS institutes has been encouraged to expand the network of AI expertise. The ELLIS Institute Tübingen attracts international students and is also to be strengthened through a “Distinguished PhD Scholarship”.

The Tübingen AI Center employs over 300 scientists in 25 research groups. This unit is dedicated to the development of reliable learning systems for society and business. The collaboration with the ELLIS Institute Tübingen and Cyber ​​Valley is crucial for the success of the research initiative.

Technological equipment and ML Cloud

Another important aspect is the setup of the ML Cloud in the Tübingen AI Center. This was specifically developed to meet the high computing requirements of modern AI workloads. The ML Cloud serves as the foundation for research by 430 active users within the center and supports advanced AI research. It consists of two clusters, Galvani and Ferranti, equipped with Nvidia 2080ti, A100 accelerator cards and H100 nodes.

This hardware plays a central role in data management and provides important tools for collaboration among scientists. The cloud is continually expanding and represents an important tool for large-scale simulations in the field of machine learning.

European strategy for AI and robotics

The latest recommendations on Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (KIRO), published in June 2024, provide a comprehensive strategy to improve Europe's competitiveness in AI and robotics by 2030. The recommendations include, among other things, the establishment of a pan-European network of AI and robotics clusters and the development of European standards. The aim is to achieve regulatory harmonization and increase trust in AI technologies.

The strategy also envisages the establishment of seven clusters of excellence by 2026 and the mobilization of 20 billion euros of private venture capital by 2027. Given challenges such as regulatory fragmentation and data availability, a clear implementation roadmap is outlined to create synergies with existing initiatives and increase robot density in the industry.

By increasing efficiency in robotics and promoting autonomous AI agents in production, a significant increase in jobs and a doubling of public research funding to 500 million euros annually from 2026 are expected.

Cem Özdemir's visit to the Tübingen AI Center illustrates the political efforts to further advance AI research in Germany and Europe. Close cooperation between science and politics is crucial to achieving the goals set and strengthening Europe's position in the global technology race. For more detailed information about developments in the Tübingen AI Center, those interested can visit the website Tübingen AI Centers or the Xpert Digital consult.