Siemens and Nvidia have entered an agreement to co-develop an industrial AI operating system. The software aims to manage factory operations similarly to how traditional operating systems control laptops. This initiative builds upon their existing strategic partnership, combining Siemens' industrial automation and digital twin expertise with Nvidia's computing infrastructure.
The collaboration focuses on optimizing supply chains and manufacturing processes through digital twins and simulation. Engineers will be able to test adjustments in a virtual environment before physical implementation. The partnership also aims to introduce AI-native electronic design tools to integrate artificial intelligence into products during the initial development phase.
Siemens has invested $560 million into its facility in Erlangen, which now serves as a global blueprint for AI-driven adaptive manufacturing. As of October 2026, the site utilizes approximately 100 AI agents for various production tasks. The company reports a 40% improvement in time-to-market for circuit boards at this location.
The initiative was officially announced on January 6, 2026, at the CES event in Las Vegas by Siemens CEO Roland Busch and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. The Erlangen plant is intended to function as a prototype for future autonomous production environments, though the scalability of these results to older, multi-vendor facilities remains to be seen.
