The OECD.AI Policy Navigator

The ICT sector is particularly shaped by SMEs: they account for more than 90 percent of IT companies in Germany. They are an important engine of innovation and a key interface for transferring research results from science to the economy.

A German national alliance of high-performance computing (HPC) centres providing researchers and industry with access to supercomputing resources, support services, and training, jointly funded by federal and Länder governments.

A German national network of AI transfer and demonstration centres supporting SME manufacturers in adopting AI and data-driven technologies in production, operated through a distributed hub network co-funded by BMFTR.

A EUR 125M pan-European challenge competition run by Germany's Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovation (SPRIND), funding up to 10 teams for 24 months to build European Frontier AI labs, with up to 3 winners positioned to raise EUR 1B scale-up rounds.

A German federal programme supporting knowledge-intensive technology startups spun out from universities and research institutions, providing grant funding to founders for business development, including AI ventures.

A German federal R&D tax credit introduced in 2020, providing a 25% tax allowance on qualifying R&D costs for all taxable German companies (raised to 35% for SMEs from 2024), applicable to AI development and research activities.

Germany's most important technology-neutral federal innovation grant programme for SMEs, providing project grants of 25–60% of R&D costs to support innovative product, process, and technology development including AI, with an annual budget of approximately EUR 630M.

The German Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR)'s strategic update to Germany's national AI strategy, comprising 50+ existing and 20+ new AI measures across eleven action areas, backed by over EUR 1.6B in BMFTR AI investment in the current legislative period.

A set of BSI and federal programmes offering cybersecurity-related guides, checklists and subsidised advisory services to improve baseline IT security in small and medium enterprises.

An AI Factory built around Europe’s JUPITER exascale supercomputer (Forschungszentrum Jülich) that enables industry and researchers to access exascale compute for AI R&D and industrial pilots.

A EuroHPC-backed AI Factory in Germany that supplies HPC/AI infrastructure, engineering support and services to researchers, SMEs and industry for large-scale model training and deployment.

GovData is Germany's national open data portal, providing transparent, open, and freely usable administrative data from federal and state government bodies. The portal covers categories including energy, environment, regions and cities, government and public sector, agriculture, health, and science and technology. Data is searchable via keyword, advanced filters, a map interface, and covers all 16 German federal states.

The Budget Committee of the Bavarian State Parliament has approved an investment of € 270 million for the construction of a high-performance computing center at FAU. A new building for the IT infrastructure and a new office building are being constructed, with groundbreaking planned for 2026.

Coordinated by the Policy Lab Digital, Work & Society at the BMAS, these guidelines were developed to ensure responsible, human-centred, and non-discriminatory AI deployment in employment and social protection services. Created through a participatory, bottom-up process, these guidelines aim to benefit both employees and citizens.

Since 2021, the German government's data labs have recruited experts in data science and AI from academia, civil society, and the private sector to support the federal administration. These experts help develop and implement AI-driven solutions within government agencies, making data and AI more useful in decision-making and public services. Through exploring and testing new AI applications, the data labs help to modernise administrative processes and promote AI technologies in the public sector

Jointly managed by BeKI, BMF and the Federal Chancellery's Data Lab, KIPITZ is an overarching AI infrastructure supporting LLMs for the federal administration. The platform, built by ITZBund with open-source components, allows cross-departmental testing and deployment of generative AI tools, fostering innovation and digital sovereignty in the public sector.

As a pilot project under BeKI, this marketplace will connect ministries and agencies with AI solutions that meet their needs. It will improve transparency and collaboration by cataloguing AI applications and experiences within government departments. The project is currently being developed with the BMI’s Data Lab, ITZBund, and other ministries, with plans to launch publicly by late 2024.

Coordinated by the AI Advisory Centre (BeKI), AI Guidelines are being developed to ensure a harmonised inter-ministerial approach to the use of AI in public administration. These guidelines promote a value-based approach to AI deployment and offer practical guidance for both employees utilising AI systems and the respective administrative units responsible for providing these systems.

Launched by the BMI, this framework focuses on an opportunity-oriented and responsible approach to AI within the Ministry and its affiliates. It outlines guiding principles, such as human-centred design, transparency, and fairness, and identifies critical factors along the AI value chain that contribute to successful AI use in public administration. Similarly, the Foreign Office (AA) has adopted an AI-Charter.

Germany’s National Data Strategy sets out a comprehensive plan to maximize the potential of data across public, private, and research sectors. It promotes responsible, effective, and sustainable data use while ensuring alignment with EU and national laws. The strategy strengthens data availability, quality, and accessibility to foster a culture of data-driven decision-making throughout society.