German billionaire Dieter Schwarz wants to make sure that Europe has its own answer to OpenAI

Dieter Schwarz, the German billionaire, plans to ensure that Europe has its own version of OpenAI. By October 30, 2023, he was the richest person in Germany, with an approximate net worth of 29.3 billion U.S. dollars.

The Dieter Schwarz Foundation, set up by the billionaire ex-CEO of the international supermarket brand Lidl, has decided to collaborate with Aleph Alpha – a leading AI firm in Germany – as a strategic partner for their upcoming Innovation Park Artificial Intelligence (Ipai) in Heilbronn, southwest Germany.

This partnership promises to allow Aleph Alpha to further enhance its research and provide the necessary resources to develop its technology. Aleph Alpha has created its extensive language models, which are similar to OpenAI’s GPT-4.

“From a company structure level, Aleph Alpha is similar to OpenAI, but it is just not on the same scale,” says Reinhold Geilsdörfer, the foundation’s CEO. OpenAI has more than 1,200 employees and has secured $12.3bn in funding, while Aleph Alpha has 61 employees and has raised $141m.

“This was the reason we decided as a foundation to support Aleph Alpha over the next 10 years and give the business a chance to be a competitor to OpenAI,” he adds.

The Dieter Schwarz Foundation has invested $2 billion in the creation of the Innovation Park Artificial Intelligence (Ipai), which, upon completion in 2027, will provide a space for 5,000 scientists. Researchers from Aleph Alpha will be based on-site at the park in the future.

Heilbronn-Franken, a short distance away from Heidelberg and Stuttgart, is famous for its huge companies in the automotive, chemical, and logistics sectors which, to remain competitive, need to accept the latest technologies such as AI.

The Dieter Schwarz Foundation is making considerable investments in AI, cybersecurity and quantum computing, as these areas are essential for guaranteeing Europe’s long-term success.

MVRDV has been contracted to create an Innovation Park Artificial Intelligence (Ipai) in the German city of Heilbronn, which is to be a circular campus for the development of AI technology. The campus will comprise of laboratories, a business campus, a start-up innovation centre, housing, a communication centre, eateries and a kindergarten.

The design was developed with LOLA Landscape Architects alongside Thornton Tomasetti, Studio Animal-Aided Design, REALACE, Peutz Consult, and Gruner Deutschland.

Dieter Schwarz, a German billionaire, is the head of the Schwarz Group and ex-chairman and CEO of the grocery store Lidl.

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