Heilbronn is becoming home to one of the most important AI ecosystems in Europe.

Heilbronn in south-west Germany is famous for its picturesque setting, outstanding wines and historic sites. But that’s not all: the city of 130,000 residents is also putting massive investments into education and research. Heilbronn is home to a campus which opened in 2011 housing a school, research institutions, a startup incubator and Germany’s largest technology experience centre for children. It is also the location of a research and development hub for businesses, which started work in 2015. Now it is the site of one of Europe’s most ambitious ecosystems for artificial intelligence, the Innovation Park Artificial Intelligence (IPAI).

Global Home of Human AI 

The first companies moved into their offices in March 2024, including the German carmakers Audi and Porsche and the Fraunhofer research institute. More partners are expected by the middle of this year, while other plans include a visitor centre with AI demonstrations and art exhibitions. The CEO of IPAI Moritz Gräter says the aim is to give people a chance to get their hands on AI, and he talks about the vision of a “global home of human AI”. The aim of IPAI is to give startups, businesses, scientific and research institutions and public sector stakeholders the chance to put AI into practical applications. “People are at the heart of what we’re doing here,” Gräter says. “We want to drive the development of technology on the basis of European values, digital responsibility, traceability and transparency.” 

The striking face of IPAI 

The centrepiece of IPAI is a 23-hectare circular site in the north-west of Heilbronn where a whole city district is taking shape around the theme of AI. The world-famous MVRDV architects from the Netherlands are bringing the vision to life and the whole campus will follow a mixed use philosophy. World-leading AI research labs are to sit side-by-side with flats, restaurants, shops, childcare, leisure and recreational facilities. The striking appearance of the IPAI campus is reminiscent of a gigantic computer chip or UFO. MVRDV founding partner Jacob van Rijs says the goal is to create an international symbol which attracts world-class talent to Heilbronn. 

Unique in Europe 

For Germany IPAI is a key element in staying competitive in the field of AI. Only this February the Commission of Experts on Research and Innovation (EFI) used their annual report to the German government to warn that Germany and the EU need to catch up in terms of developing and using AI. 

IPAI aims to created a high-performance AI ecosystem across the whole AI value-creation chain, from training specialists and conducting research to developing, applying and commercialising ethically responsible AI. “What we’re planning, and what we’ve already started here, is unique in Europe so far,” says IPAI-CEO Gräter. “We’re connecting applied sciences from the field of artificial intelligence with businesses of all sizes, from world market leaders in their fields to startups and SMEs,” he says. The The project is receiving public and private funding from the State of Baden-Württemberg, and the Dieter-Schwarz-Stiftung of the Lidl and Kaufland Group. 

Cyber Valley partnership in Stuttgart and Tübingen 

IPAI is also partnering with Cyber Valley, a leading AI association in the region. Based at the universities of Stuttgart and Tübingen, Cyber Valley started out in 2016 as an association of universities and non-university research institutions. Since then it has made a name for itself as one of Europe’s leading AI innovation hubs. The aim is for the two clusters to complement each other in future. While Cyber Valley is focusing on working with startups to bring outstanding fundamental research to market quickly, IPAI is helping businesses quickly integrate the products of this research into their value-creation chains. 

Aleph Alpha partnering 

The German AI startup Aleph Alpha has recently contributed another key element in the journey towards creating what may be Europe’s largest AI ecosystem. Aleph Alpha’s model promotes transparency so users can see how a certain result was achieved. This not only puts Aleph Alpha a step ahead of its global competitors, but also makes it the perfect partner for IPAI and its vision of becoming the “global home of human AI”. It was announced in August 2023 that Aleph Alpha would be joining the partners for the major AI project in Heilbronn.