Germany Draws Billions in Investment at Berlin Summit

Business leaders from around the world gathered in Berlin, Germany, on Tuesday for the Invest in Germany Summit. More than 200 executives from big companies, banks, and investment funds attended the two-day event. By Tuesday, companies had already promised more than €225 billion — about $252.5 billion — in new investments. The summit showed that many global businesses still see Germany as a great place to put their money.

One of the biggest announcements came from Amazon. The online shopping giant said it plans to invest €16 billion in Germany in 2027 alone. Amazon said the money would go toward building data centers, AI technology, a satellite internet service called Amazon Leo, new shipping facilities, and original TV and movie projects through Prime Video. David Zapolsky, Amazon's chief global affairs and legal officer, said Germany has been a key partner for the company for years, with more than €100 billion already invested there since 2010.

Germany also announced a new deal with Nvidia, a major American tech company known for its powerful computer chips. Chancellor Merz and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang agreed to work more closely together on artificial intelligence, or AI, in German industries. They said that combining Germany's engineering skills with Nvidia's cutting-edge AI technology could help the country's economy grow stronger over time. It was one of the most talked-about agreements of the entire summit.

Organizers of the summit pointed to several reasons why Germany is a good place for investment. The country has strong public finances and holds a top-tier 'triple-A' credit rating — the only G7 nation to do so. Germany also has solid laws and files more patents in Europe than almost anyone else. However, the country has faced challenges in recent years, including high energy prices and expensive labor costs that have made some investors hesitant.

Even as the summit celebrated big investment news, German industrial giant Siemens offered a word of caution about AI. Siemens' chief people officer, Judith Wiese, warned that using AI to do entry-level tasks could hurt young workers. She said that if AI handles all the basic work, new employees may never build the hands-on skills they need to succeed later in their careers. For example, she said software developers still need to learn how to write their own code so they can check whether AI-made code is correct.

Wiese asked an important question that many companies are now thinking about: 'What do I need to have done, checked and seen myself to avoid being misled by AI?' She did say AI has some benefits too — it can help workers learn skills faster and allows teams to take on projects that weren't possible before. But she said it's still too early to know exactly how AI will change the number of jobs available. Siemens employs about 30,000 software engineers, so the answer to that question matters a great deal.

In other news from Germany, the far-right political party AfD said it is looking into a cyberattack that happened last month. Hackers broke into a company that hosted AfD email accounts and stole data. More than 420,000 emails linked to the AfD were published online, according to the German newspaper Bild. The stolen files reportedly included emails from top party leaders, bank records, and membership lists, though no independent group has confirmed whether the materials are real.

In Berlin's local politics, two parties — the Greens and the Social Democrats — said they are ready to begin talks about forming a government with the Left Party. The Left Party won the most votes in Berlin's September elections, taking 25.7% of the vote. Before the talks could begin, the parties had to address concerns about antisemitism and links to organized crime connected to the Left Party. One Left Party lawmaker caused controversy by making statements that seemed to go against Germany's strong support for Israel's right to exist.

Finally, a small group of protesters made news outside a Berlin factory run by Rheinmetall, Germany's largest weapons maker. Nine protesters glued themselves to the road outside the plant, and police sent about 90 officers to the scene. The protest was part of a series of demonstrations at the factory, which only began production earlier this year. Climate activist Greta Thunberg has been among those who have protested at the site in the past.