Siemens Plans AI to Automate Up to 80% of Factories

Siemens and Nvidia are advancing “physical AI” for manufacturing, combining digital twins, AI models and automation software to simulate and optimize factory operations before applying changes on the production floor. Siemens aims to raise factory automation from about 30%–40% to 70%–80%, arguing that stronger productivity can help keep manufacturing in high-wage countries such as Germany. At Siemens’ Erlangen electronics plant, new applications support production planning and PCB inspection preparation; using digital representations can cut engineering effort by as much as 85% and time to market by up to 40%. Siemens plans to invest €500 million to expand the Erlangen site by 2030, while broader adoption will depend on reliable data integration and safeguards that let people regain control if AI makes an error.