Huang's criticism of Germany

Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang, 63, said it hurt him to see one of the most technologically advanced countries fall so far behind, speaking to journalists in London in mid-October as reported by CNBC. He blamed a European habit of overthinking things and told Germany it had enormous talent and simply needed to get to work. A video of the remarks later spread on social media. On Friday, 16 October, Huang was in Berlin for the launch of new AI laptops at Alexanderplatz, where he told Tagesspiegel that Germany is Nvidia's largest European location. He added that Nvidia sells chips rather than applications for end customers, and that those applications should be deployed in Germany.

The Berlin investment summit

The Invest in Germany summit opens on the evening of 19 October with Huang as a headline guest, and the main conference day follows on 20 October at the ESMT business school. There Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil and about half the cabinet are due to meet around 200 chief executives. Handelsblatt reported that the government and Nvidia plan to present an AI partnership, with the federal government investing a sum in the hundreds of millions and Nvidia contributing engineers and chips. About a dozen German companies, including Siemens and Audi, are expected to take part, and investment commissioner Martin Blessing helped send the invitations.

Industry frustration

Investors and companies are not uniformly upbeat about the government's course. Handelsblatt reported that investors complain of contradictions in German energy policy and want a clear commitment to the energy transition and electrification, while several important energy laws have been pending for months. Pharmaceutical firms are angry about savings plans in healthcare, and according to Handelsblatt only one of the 36 international pharma companies in the Biopharmaceutical CEOs Roundtable delegation is expected at the summit. That one is reportedly Sanofi chief Belén Garijo, who led Merck until the end of April 2026, and she would be the only company head from the sector attending. Yves Meyer-Bülow, a partner at infrastructure investor I Squared, said Germany has a chance to turn its infrastructure into a competitive advantage after two decades of insufficient public investment.

Investment figures and Huang's next steps

An Allianz Research study found that investment in Germany fell 6.4% between 2019 and 2025, while it rose 6.7% in the rest of the euro area and 20.2% in the United States over the same period. The study attributes the gap to high energy costs, the burden of taxes and levies, and bureaucracy.

Germany-6.4%

Rest of euro area6.7%

United States20.2%

Germany

-6.4 %

Rest of euro area

6.7 %

United States

20.2 %

Data from the article text

Government circles argue that public money alone cannot modernize the country, which is why the summit aims to mobilize private capital. Huang stays in Berlin afterwards, as Nvidia hosts its GTC Berlin AI conference at the Tempodrom from 20 to 22 October, with Huang giving the keynote on Wednesday, 21 October.