Quantum leap in German AI: Telekom opens mega computing centre
Deutsche Telekom has opened one of Europe’s largest AI computing centres in Munich. Yet how independent does that really make Germany?
Munich (d.de) - Deutsche Telekom has opened one of Europe’s largest AI factories in Munich. Some 10,000 Nvidia processors and a billion euros of investment in the new “Industrial AI Cloud“ are intended to make German companies less dependent on international providers. This increases the AI computing capacity in Germany by some 50 per cent – a significant step forward in the digitisation of industry and SMEs.
Telekom CEO Timotheus Höttges emphasised: “Without AI you can forget industry and Germany as a business location.” Last June, Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz praised Telekom and Nvidia’s plans as “ a significant step in terms of Germany’s digital sovereignty and economic future”. Telekom states that the data never leave Germany and are administered by European employees.
Yet the question of genuine independence still remains: The hardware is supplied by US chip manufacturer Nvidia, which in turn is dependent on raw materials from China. The AI factory in Munich is nevertheless seen as a milestone and could even soon be expanded given growing demand.
