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Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Berlin Senator for Economic Affairs Franziska Giffey explores the AI research and innovation hub on Salzufer in Charlottenburg.
As part of her summer tour, Senator Franziska Giffey visited the Berlin Institute for the Foundations of Learning and Data (BIFOLD) at TU Berlin on September 3, 2025, to learn about the institute's further development and, above all, its successful collaborations with Berlin's business community. BIFOLD Co-Director Prof. Dr. Klaus-Robert Müller took the opportunity to inform the Senator about the institute's main research priorities and successes and introduced her to several BIFOLD spin-offs and BIFOLD cooperation partners from Berlin's business community. The second part of the event was dedicated to the “Berlin AI Square” on Salzufer: With BIFOLD, DFKI, the Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute (HHI), the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), and other AI research institutions, a relevant and complementary cluster of cutting-edge AI research is emerging here in a very small area – optimally networked with transfer institutions for the promotion of spin-offs, as well as the numerous AI industry companies that have settled in Berlin. “In Berlin, the strength, diversity, and international reputation of AI research contribute directly to the innovative power and competitiveness of our city,” said the senator.
Since 2022, BIFOLD has grown from 87 employees to almost 240, including 92 doctoral students. During the same period, five new professorships were established (four at TU Berlin, one at Charité Universitätsmedizin), with three more to follow in 2026 (two at TU Berlin, one at Charité). “While in the 2010s, a maximum of 60 students attended our lectures, today up to 1,000 students attend individual courses from the more than 50 different courses offered by BIFOLD scientists,” reported Klaus-Robert Müller: "BIFOLD is thus making a significant contribution to training the urgently needed AI experts for the German and, in particular, the Berlin labor market. "The importance of a strong research landscape for attracting relevant industries was also emphasized by the two representatives present from Snowflake and Databricks, major American tech companies that have opened offices in Berlin in recent years. In addition, BIFOLD can already point to successful spin-offs: the startups Aignostics and X-cardiac, which were present, are just two examples. Aignostics focuses on the development of digital pathology for research, clinical trials, companion diagnostics, and routine clinical practice. According to Newsweek, it is considered one of the “World's Best Digital Health Companies 2024.” X-Cardiac was founded by Charité professor and BIFOLD research group leader Prof. Dr. Alexander Meyer and has established itself as a pioneer in the field of AI-based medical devices for predicting postoperative complications after cardiac surgery. The demonstrators presented also made it clear that BIFOLD does not conduct ivory tower research. The AI-based solutions not only set new standards in patient safety. The automotive industry is now also interested in AI-based evaluation of vital data, as evidenced by the newly established cooperation with BMW.
The second part of the visit took us to the Digital Technologies Forum, a networking platform run by DFKI, Fraunhofer HHI, and VDI/VDE. Here, it became particularly clear how efficient the cooperation between the complementary Berlin-based AI research groups is. The powerful innovation cluster of Berlin AI Square, consisting of BIFOLD, Fraunhofer HHI, DFKI, PTB, and partners such as UNITE and Talentik, demonstrated the fruits of its cooperation to date with selected AI demonstrators: successful projects in the fields of AI quality and security, AI and medicine, AI and media, AI and Earth observation—all areas in which Berlin has made a name for itself in recent years. In the accompanying discussion, the partners emphasized the great potential of such collaborations at a shared location.
Among other things, Fraunhofer HHI demonstrated how neural networks can be made transparent with the help of layer-wise relevance propagation (LRP) – a key contribution to trustworthy AI in sensitive fields of application such as medicine and industry. This was complemented by AI systems that not only collect data, but also intelligently interpret and communicate its meaning, for example for autonomous vehicles or smart sensor technology. Ralf Schäfer, Deputy Director of Fraunhofer HHI, emphasized: “Our AI research combines scientific depth with practical relevance, whether in medicine, industry, or digital communication.”
"With its application-oriented research, DFKI makes a significant contribution to promoting the transfer of AI to Berlin's economy. Our research creates the basis for successful spin-offs and strengthens both small and medium-sized enterprises and large companies. The DFKI spin-off ‘Gretchen.AI’, which we are presenting here, is an excellent example of this," says Prof. Dr. Sebastian Möller, spokesperson for the DFKI Project Office Berlin.
Prof. Dr. Tobias Schäffter, Head of the Berlin Institute of the PTB: “In cooperation projects with the research centers and industry present, we ensure reliable quality of data and AI. This is an essential prerequisite for trustworthy AI systems in industrial manufacturing, medical technology, and even autonomous driving.”
All research institutions are located just a few hundred meters apart. They form the heart of Berlin AI Square and ensure that talent and technology come together more quickly and innovations are put directly into practice. Thanks to close cooperation between the various players, the entire AI innovation pipeline will be represented here in the future: from the training of highly qualified specialists and technology transfer to the establishment of new companies and the strengthening of Berlin as a center of innovation.
The senator was impressed by the dynamism of technology transfer and the active networking between research, funding, and industry that characterizes Berlin AI Square and not only advances individual projects but also shapes Berlin's economic development.
Quote from the senator:
"Excellent research is the foundation for economic success. A look at leading AI locations such as the San Francisco Bay Area, Toronto, London, or Boston makes this clear. In Berlin, too, the strength, diversity, and international reputation of AI research contribute directly to our city's innovative power and competitiveness. Artificial intelligence is a cross-cutting technology and, at the same time, a key driver in future fields such as FinTech, BioTech, GreenTech, and GovTech – which is why it also plays a key role in our innovation strategy. As Berlin's Senator for Economic Affairs, I will specifically promote the topics of real-world laboratories and powerful computing infrastructure as a basis for AI innovations."
Participants of the visit by Senator for Economic Affairs Franziska Giffey (front row, center) to Be ...
Copyright: © BIFOLD / Kevin Fuchs
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überregional
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Participants of the visit by Senator for Economic Affairs Franziska Giffey (front row, center) to Be ...
Copyright: © BIFOLD / Kevin Fuchs
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