The largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe, AG Siemens, has announced that it will invest USD 681 million into a center for the study and development of blockchain, artificial intelligence, and other innovative technologies.
The German giant has planned to use Berlin as the site for what it will call SiemensStadt (Siemens City) on a 70 hectares site in an industrial zone in the suburb of Spandau. The concept will eventually metamorphose into a science park linking history to the area where the company found its roots back in the 19th century as the site of some of Siemens AG’s first factories.
The long-term project, set for completion in 2030, will see the initial buildings develop into a technology park and base for new startups, making an important link between business, innovation and science. A major focus on the development of both blockchain and AI technologies has been earmarked as essential moving forward. Other areas of development which will take place in SiemensStadt will include data analysis, the development of electric vehicles, distributed power systems, and energy management.
Despite Siemens announcing job losses last month to the tune of 2,900 staff due to restructuring, the company has stated that the new project will provide employment for hundreds. Berlin’s mayor, Michael Müller, suggested that “the city’s status as a scientific center would be boosted by the investment”.
It has been a productive year for Germany on the fintech front, with the country’s central bank, Deutsche Bundesbank, successfully completing two blockchain trials during its collaboration with Deutsche Börse, owner of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The two blockchain prototypes were designed to test the technology’s potential in securities settlements, transactions, and payments, as well as bond repayments.
Earlier in 2018, Germany’s second-largest stock exchange, Boerse Stuttgart took the step to host Crypto Trading and Coin Offerings, following the announcement that its new Bison app would be released later this year by fintech company Sowa Labs, a subsidiary of Boerse Stuggart Digital Ventures.
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