Switzerland and Germany expand cooperation on AI and robotics

Switzerland and Germany signed a new cooperation declaration in Bern on September 30, 2026, putting artificial intelligence and robotics at the centre of a partnership that already spans thousands of research projects. Swiss State Secretary Martina Hirayama and her German counterpart, Marcus Pleyer, joined representatives from institutions in both countries for talks on education, research and innovation.

The joint declaration of intent renews a commitment to expand cross-border work in digitalisation, artificial intelligence, sustainability and robotics. The talks follow the regular meeting format used by the two delegations, which convene about every two years.

For Switzerland, the agreement links its research institutions and technology companies more closely to Germany, its largest neighbouring economy and a major industrial power. German partners bring access to large manufacturing networks, engineering capacity and European research structures. Swiss institutions contribute established strengths in precision engineering, automation, computer science and applied research.

The declaration does not set out a specific budget or a list of new projects. Its immediate significance lies in giving political backing to cooperation that is already extensive, while identifying technologies likely to shape laboratories, factories and public services over the coming decade.

The existing research relationship is already measured in thousands of cross-border projects. Under the EU’s Horizon Europe programme, German and Swiss partners have completed just under 1,300 collaborative projects. Since 2020, the Swiss National Science Foundation has funded more than 4,600 projects involving German partners.

Those figures cover broader research cooperation, rather than AI and robotics alone. They show how deeply the two research systems are connected through universities, laboratories and institutional funding. The new declaration gives that network a clearer focus on technologies that increasingly depend on shared expertise and expensive infrastructure.

Researchers working on robotics often need access to mechanical engineering, sensors, software, materials science and industrial testing. Artificial intelligence projects require computing resources, high-quality data, mathematical expertise and practical settings where systems can be evaluated. A cross-border framework can help teams combine these capabilities instead of building every component separately.

The next stage will depend on implementation. Institutions will need to identify calls for proposals, coordinate funding rules and give researchers reliable access to facilities and data. The scale of existing cooperation provides a substantial base, but the declaration itself does not yet reveal how many new projects will receive support or when dedicated programmes might begin.

The agreement targets technologies that connect university research directly to industrial production. Robotics sits at the intersection of software, electronics and precision mechanics, areas where Switzerland has built a strong industrial and academic base. Germany adds scale through its automotive, engineering, chemical and manufacturing sectors.

Closer cooperation could support joint work on autonomous machines, industrial automation, sustainable production and AI systems used in research or manufacturing. It could also help doctoral students and engineers move between laboratories and companies, giving research findings a faster route into products and production lines.

Swiss regions stand to benefit in different ways. Zurich, Lausanne and other university centres host major research communities, while the Jura Arc, eastern Switzerland and the wider Alpine region include companies with expertise in precision manufacturing, sensors and specialised machinery. German border regions can provide nearby industrial partners and testing environments.

The declaration also places education alongside research and innovation. That matters for a field facing a shortage of specialists who understand both advanced computing and physical machines. Joint training, exchanges and institutional partnerships could widen the talent pool available to companies on both sides of the border, although the source agreement does not specify particular courses or mobility targets.

The declaration gives Swiss innovation policy a stronger German connection as competition over AI capability intensifies. Switzerland can use the partnership to deepen access to European research networks while retaining its own institutions, funding mechanisms and regulatory responsibilities. German cooperation may help Swiss teams work with larger industrial users and bring promising research into commercial settings.

For German partners, Switzerland offers highly specialised research capacity and a dense network of innovative small and medium-sized companies. Cooperation can be particularly valuable in robotics, where breakthroughs depend on long-term work across disciplines rather than software development alone.

The practical test will come after the signatures. Researchers and companies will look for funding opportunities, clear rules for intellectual property, workable data access and programmes that support projects beyond the laboratory. Education will also determine whether the two countries can supply enough engineers, computer scientists and technicians to use these technologies responsibly and effectively.

The political declaration cannot guarantee commercial success. It can, however, reduce fragmentation between neighbouring research systems and create a basis for targeted initiatives. With nearly 1,300 Horizon Europe projects and more than 4,600 Swiss National Science Foundation projects with German partners already recorded, the relationship has a substantial platform on which to build.