Berlin's Top Research Institutes Team Up on AI
Signing the agreement, from left to right (back): Prof. Dr. Fatma Deniz (TU), StS Dr. Henry Marx (Land Berlin), Niels Helle-Meyer (HU), front: Dr. Martin Mann (BUA), Dr. Kathrin Rost (ZIB), Dr. Saskia Vormfelde, Prof. Dr. Bernd Rech (both HZB).
Berlin's research scene will get a serious upgrade for the AI age. On 18 September 2026, the Berlin University Alliance (BUA), the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and the Zuse Institute Berlin (ZIB) signed an agreement to build a joint data science and AI centre spanning Berlin-Dahlem and Adlershof.
The idea is simple: instead of each institution building its own computing and storage capacity, the three partners are pooling existing and planned investments worth millions of euros. The State of Berlin is chipping in extra funding through the Berlin University Alliance to help expand shared research infrastructure, and new capacity will be added in phases as scientific needs grow.
Dr Henry Marx, State Secretary for Science, called the move a historic step for the city's scientific community, one that puts Berlin's research policy priorities, more AI, bigger data spaces, shared infrastructure, into practice. BUA spokesperson Prof. Heyo K. Kroemer pointed to AI's power to reshape the city, society and science, while HZB's Prof. Bernd Rech said the new setup will benefit not just researchers but industry and society too. ZIB president Prof. Dr Christof Schütte described the collaboration as an important first step, with more to follow.
The agreement builds on a memorandum of understanding the partners signed back in May 2025 and now spells out joint governance, coordinated infrastructure planning, and shared use of computing and storage capacity. With mathematics, AI and data-intensive research already among Berlin's strengths, the new centre aims to keep the city competitive on the international stage.