Artificial intelligence (AI) is considered the technology of the future: Such systems learn from data and see things in it that a human would never notice. They should control our energy networks, make the railways more reliable, industry more efficient and much more. But the music for this technology plays mainly in the USA and in China, Europe runs the risk of panting behind again with a formative innovation.
Against this background, two AI initiatives from southern Germany have decided to join forces. AppliedAI, the AI initiative of the Munich Center for Innovation and Business EntrepreneurTUM, and the Heilbronn Innovationspark KI want to join forces to advance Germany in the concrete application of artificial intelligence. “Large models, hardware, software tools and leading AI companies are almost exclusively created outside of Europe,” says Andreas Liebl, head of the Munich AI initiative. The new southern German AI axis is intended as “a first step that will contribute to the preservation of European prosperity and our centuries-old values”. The aim is to create a counterweight to initiatives such as OpenAI from the USA.
The two initiatives see artificial intelligence as a “central key technology that – similar to the invention of the steam engine or the Internet – heralds a new economic and technological age”. The merger of the two German institutions does not only see it as its task to forcefully promote AI applications. He also wants to make sure that these serve the people and are sustainable. To this end, the aim is to constantly discuss the effects of AI on people and the economy and also to create knowledge and break down prejudices with information offers and further training.
The planned merger of tax offices and antitrust authorities is still being examined
AppliedAI was founded in 2017 by UnternehmerTUM. UnternehmerTUM, financed by entrepreneur Susanne Klatten (BMW), sees itself as the leading center for innovation and start-ups in Europe. More than 300 people work for the innovation platform, which is located on the TU Munich campus in Garching near Munich. Around 80 technology companies are founded there every year. The best-known foundations of the past include the aviation company Lilium, the space company Isar Aerospace and the software house Celonis, now a billion-dollar company.
The Heilbronn Innovation Park KI was only created in 2021, a consortium led by the Schwarz Foundation, the foundation of the Schwarz Group (Lidl, Kaufland), won a competition launched by the state of Baden-Württemberg. The first partners are to move into a temporary building in July, and a new building is expected to be available by the end of 2023. The aim is to build “the largest ecosystem for artificial intelligence in Europe”.
The cooperation with appliedAI should help to develop more offers and content in Heilbronn in order to build up more knowledge about artificial intelligence in business and society. But direct support for industry is also to be expanded. On the one hand, to enable companies to use advanced AI applications. On the other hand, “disruptive, AI-based innovations” are also to be developed and distributed from Germany.
The merger of the two initiatives has already been applied for. However, checks by the tax authorities and the antitrust authorities are still pending.