At Rise of AI Conference 2025 in Berlin, Thomas Jarzombek, member of the Bundestag and Parliamentary State Secretary for Digital Affairs and State Modernization, outlines his brand-new ministry's plans for AI just one week after it was formed. He frames AI regulation as an opportunity rather than a restriction, describing an ongoing internal debate about how to implement the EU AI Act and simplify GDPR and the Data Act. He describes plans to attract global scientific and business talent through a faster work-and-stay visa process and 1,000 new AI professorships, and to close the gap with US large language models through open source work led by the Sovereign Tech Agency. He discusses Germany's bid for one of the EU's AI gigafactories, building on Jülich's existing 24,000 GPUs, and improving GPU access for startups and SMEs. He also describes building a reusable "Deutschland Stack" of government software components, using government procurement to support AI startups, a sovereign desktop operating system, and the EU Digital Identity wallet.
Key takeaways
- Jarzombek's ministry launched a week before the talk with over 500 staff drawn from several existing ministries.
- Germany is still deciding whether to implement the EU AI Act as written or adjust it, aiming for a fast decision.
- A planned work-and-stay agency and 1,000 new AI professorships target global scientific and business talent.
- Germany is bidding for one of the EU's AI gigafactories, building on Jülich's 24,000 existing GPUs.
- The ministry is building a reusable "Deutschland Stack" of government software components to stop duplicate builds.
Detailed notes
A ministry one week old
Jarzombek opens by noting his new Ministry of Digital Affairs and State Modernization launched its website the day after being announced and now has more than 500 employees drawn from existing ministries, including IT staff from the Interior Ministry, the former Digital and Transportation Ministry, and parts of the Economic Affairs Ministry. He describes the task as building a common culture across teams with very different prior IT cultures, from highly secure but hard-to-use systems to pragmatic ones, and frames the ministry's mission as freeing up energy that was previously blocked.
Regulation as possibility: the AI Act and GDPR
Jarzombek says his ministry will likely be responsible for the national conversion of the EU AI Act and frames regulation around four blocks, starting with possibilities rather than restrictions. He says the ministry is still debating whether to implement the existing AI Act as written or adjust it, but wants to decide quickly, with the goal of making regulation simpler, easier and clearer. He cites GDPR as an example of unclear regulation needing more clarity, and says the same applies to the EU Data Act, noting that people who left Europe for the US often cited a search for better possibilities.
Attracting global talent
Jarzombek describes talent as the ministry's second focus, citing 1,000 new research professorships, including for AI, aimed at scientists who value Germany's research freedom and political stability. He highlights a planned work-and-stay agency, a coalition-treaty commitment meant to fast-track visas for talent and business so people no longer wait a year for an appointment, arguing shifts in US government policy create an opportunity to attract international scientists beyond the US.
Data policy and closing the open-source LLM gap
Jarzombek's third block is data: better coordination between German authorities and states on GDPR, a research data law for better access to research data, and a mobility data law the ministry expects to own. He says open data leads naturally to open source, arguing Germany cannot compete with current US large language models but sees open source as a real opportunity, citing the Sovereign Tech Agency, started under the previous government, as key to building understanding of models and contributing to the open-source ecosystem rather than only consuming it.
Gigafactories, GPU access and a Deutschland Stack
On infrastructure, Jarzombek says the coalition treaty targets securing one of the EU's four AI gigafactories for Germany, building on Jülich's existing 24,000 GPUs, which a gigafactory would expand to 100,000, alongside a competing proposal from Stuttgart. He says the bigger challenge is easier GPU access for SMEs and startups, requiring both national and private funding. He also describes building a "Deutschland Stack," a reusable repository of government software and data components to stop ministries rebuilding the same tools, using government procurement as an anchor customer for AI startups, a ZenDiS-built sovereign desktop operating system, and the EU Digital Identity wallet with SPRIND as a partner, competing alongside Samsung and Google.
Q&A highlights
Asked whether Germany could reuse ID and driver's license solutions already built in other EU countries, such as Poland, Jarzombek confirms the EU Digital Identity wallet is built on a shared European framework precisely so credentials work across borders. Asked about his first day in office, he describes moving into a shared building in Charlottenburg with staff from multiple ministries, and jokes that the ministry is pushing him into using an iPhone for the first time.
Quotes
We should understand regulation as an opportunity to enable possibilities.
Thomas Jarzombek
It's not fair only to consume. We also have to provide in this open source ecosystem.
Thomas Jarzombek
Questions answered in this talk
What is Germany's new Ministry of Digital Affairs and State Modernization doing on AI?
According to Thomas Jarzombek at Rise of AI 2025, the ministry, formed one week earlier, is working on implementing the EU AI Act, attracting global talent, promoting open-source AI through the Sovereign Tech Agency, and securing one of the EU's AI gigafactories for Germany.
Is Germany bidding to host an EU AI gigafactory?
Thomas Jarzombek says Germany's coalition treaty targets winning one of the EU's four AI gigafactories, building on Jülich's existing 24,000 GPUs, which would expand to 100,000, alongside a competing proposal from Stuttgart.
What is the Deutschland Stack that Germany's digital ministry is building?
Thomas Jarzombek describes the Deutschland Stack as a reusable repository of government software and data components, including AI modules, meant to stop different ministries from separately building the same tools.