Heilbronn, March 28, 2025 – At a meeting with high-ranking representatives from small- and medium-sized companies at IPAI with Lucilla Sioli, Director of the European AI Office, who is responsible for the EU’s new regulation on Artificial Intelligence in Brussels, Dr. Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut, Minister for Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism, emphasized the importance of an innovation-friendly implementation of the EU AI Act.

Hoffmeister-Kraut: “To ensure that AI regulation does not hinder the innovations of our economy, it is essential to implement the EU AI Act in a manner that is as unbureaucratic, straightforward, and uniform across the EU as possible for businesses. We must harness the enormous value creation potential of AI here in Europe to ensure global competitiveness for our companies. Baden-Württemberg with its strong economy is the ideal location to – with support from Brussels – enable greater digital sovereignty, for example through the initiative InvestAI.”

IPAI CEO Moritz Gräter welcomed the insightful dialogue between business leaders and policymakers. “We’re pleased that IPAI was able to contribute in clarifying the concerns surrounding the AI Act and to reducing uncertainties companies are facing. The EU AI Act is a crucial opportunity to establish ethical standards and trust in AI made in Europe. We want IPAI to act as a launch pad to adapt AI throughout the economy and the government.”

In light of the international AI race, the EU must speed up its AI development, said Gräter. “The current investment campaign has the potential to initiate an enormous boost. In addition to cutting-edge infrastructure for the research sector, we must also create economically viable and sovereign AI infrastructure for companies in the EU.”

About IPAI

Baden-Württemberg is on the way to becoming a leader in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI). With the establishment of IPAI, an innovation platform for AI is being created, supported by up to 50 million euros in funding from the state of Baden-Württemberg.

IPAI aims to cover the entire AI value chain – from education to research, development, application, and the commercialization of ethically responsible AI. In a unique, innovation-promoting ecosystem, a diverse range of companies, start-ups, research institutions, and public sector actors are coming together. Close collaboration with established partners and networks on research, AI development, and business applications is brought together based on IPAI’s principles of sustainability, digital responsibility, and European sovereignty.

IPAI launched in September 2022 and is based in the IPAI SPACES at the Zukunftspark Wohlgelegen. Additionally, a 23-hectare international AI campus is being created in the north of Heilbronn as a European hotspot for artificial intelligence.

© IPAI / Nico Kurth

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Jan Denia
Press Officer
press@ip.ai