The CEO of Siemens AG, Roland Busch, has stated that the company will prioritize artificial intelligence investments in the United States and China if the European Union fails to amend its restrictive regulations. Speaking in an interview at the Hannover Messe industrial fair, Busch indicated that due to Europe's regulatory burden, the majority of a €1 billion (approximately $1.2 billion) investment the company is making in industrial AI will be directed to the US. He added that the EU's Artificial Intelligence Act and Data Act have "missed the mark" by equating industrial AI with consumer applications and adding new layers of regulation to sectors already governed by specific industry rules. "It is completely absurd to treat industrial and machine data the same as personal data," Busch stated. "I cannot explain to shareholders why I should invest in an environment that restricts our capabilities."
Critics have pointed out that the EU's AI rules are overly complex and contradictory, warning that Europe risks falling further behind global competitors in this emerging technological field. For instance, engineering equipment manufacturers are already required to comply with the EU Machinery Regulation, which mandates they assess and mitigate risks associated with autonomous systems. Driven by pressure from European and American tech companies and EU member states, the European Commission unveiled plans in November to reduce regulations, aiming to assist local businesses. These proposals include delaying the implementation of rules for high-risk AI systems by up to 16 months, simplifying the reporting process for cybersecurity incidents, and relaxing data protection rules to facilitate the training of AI models.
Busch commented that the adjustments proposed by the European Commission are too minor to substantially alleviate the burden. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, speaking in Hannover on Sunday, reiterated his support for simplifying Europe's AI rules. He stated that the German government would advocate for "freeing industrial AI from the overly restrictive 'straitjacket' of the current EU regulatory framework." "We must no longer act according to the ideas conceived in Brussels years ago—a time when the vast scale and scope of AI applications were far from being anticipated," Merz said.
Headquartered in Munich, Siemens AG, historically known for its engineering and electrification businesses, has evolved over its 175-year history into a supplier of factory controls, software, and automation products. It is the highest-valued company on the German stock exchange, with a market capitalization of approximately €194 billion. On Monday, the company launched the "Eigen Engineering Agent," one of the first commercial AI systems capable of independently performing industrial automation tasks. This system goes beyond advising engineers; it can take direct actions within an engineering environment, including generating code, performing configurations, and checking its own output. Siemens AG stated that this technology could increase productivity by up to 50%. Applying AI in industrial settings is often more demanding than consumer use cases like chatbots, as systems must meet extremely high standards of precision and reliability.
Siemens AG began its transition towards software with the acquisition of UGS in 2007. While software now accounts for over one-third of the revenue in its Digital Industries division, it is not reported as a separate business unit. Busch noted that this structure will remain unchanged for the current fiscal year, but the company is working to "selectively" increase transparency and disclose more software-related metrics. Under Busch's leadership, Siemens AG has accelerated its push into the software sector, acquiring companies like Altair and Dotmatics in recent years for a total of approximately $15 billion. Busch stated that the company will continue to seek acquisitions in both hardware and software. "Naturally, we are always looking in the software space—whether it involves simulation, AI applications, or what we call operational software," he said. "Any area related to data processing is of great interest to us."
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