Dunia Innovations in Berlin has pledged €280 million to establish a GigaLab focused on autonomous AI materials.

      The autonomous R&D facility, covering 6,000 square metres and supported by Siemens, ABB Robotics, NVIDIA, AWS, and ILS, aims to tackle the materials-verification challenges that AI-driven design has introduced in Europe. Dunia Innovations, a deeptech firm based in Berlin, revealed on Wednesday its plans for a €280 million facility, named GigaLab, dedicated to the discovery and development of advanced materials on an industrial scale. The core technologies for the facility will be supplied by Siemens, ABB Robotics, NVIDIA, AWS, and ILS. It is anticipated to generate over 200 direct jobs and commence operations in 2028.

      Founded in 2022, Dunia operates an integrated platform that merges AI, lab automation, and simulation into a closed-loop system, catering to clients in catalysts, batteries, and semiconductors. The first-generation platform was launched in 2023, with the second-generation IRIS platform going live in May 2025. GigaLab represents the company's belief that the next bottleneck in the discovery of advanced materials lies not in algorithms but in the physical capacity for experimental verification required to validate the millions of potential materials suggested by AI models.

      As articulated by Dr. Alex Hammer, CEO and co-founder, Dunia argues that the fragmented nature of the scientific record hinders the training of large-scale models in other fields, and that simulations alone fall short in predicting material behavior under real-world variables like temperature, pressure, and contamination. "The demand for experimental verification is surging as AI continues to conceptualize millions of new materials," Hammer noted. "We require factories capable of conducting scientific work at an industrial scale. GigaLab will be a pioneering facility that accomplishes this."

      The industrial consortium surrounding GigaLab holds significant strategic importance. Siemens offers digital twin and process simulation technology; ABB Robotics provides lab automation for fully autonomous experiments; AWS manages cloud infrastructure and extensive analytics; NVIDIA contributes high-performance computing for AI model training through its Inception program; and ILS adds advanced high-throughput parallel testing equipment. Merck has shown interest in GigaLab’s ability to expedite next-generation semiconductor materials development. The partnership between Siemens and NVIDIA mirrors their collaboration in industrial robotics, with their digital twin and edge computing framework now expanding into the field of materials science.

      Dr. Dirk Demuth, Head of Corporate Development and co-founder of hte GmbH, emphasized that the comprehensive integration of technology distinguishes GigaLab from previous generations of materials-AI infrastructure. "We are creating AI, automation, and industrial-grade workflow designs from the ground up rather than simply integrating existing systems," he stated.

      Dunia aims to present this project as pivotal to European competitiveness, sustainability, and sovereignty, expecting GigaLab to garner substantial public co-investment alongside private venture capital and industrial partners. The company is also advocating for a €500 million EU-funded materials-testing facility, which is intended to operate simultaneously.

      In terms of funding, Dunia has secured around $11.5 million (€10.6 million) in October 2024, co-led by French VC Elaia and Swiss VC redalpine, and is currently in the process of raising further capital to finance GigaLab. The European Commission’s Horizon program has provided support for Dunia’s electrocatalyst discovery projects through a dedicated CORDIS grant.

      The €280 million GigaLab represents a significant increase from any previous announcements made by Dunia; however, the specific funding sources for the construction have yet to be disclosed, though the announcement hints at a blend of venture capital, industrial partner investments, and anticipated European public co-investment. The broader context of European deeptech illustrates that VC structures have faced challenges in supporting the long-term, capital-heavy investments that frontier materials development necessitates. Successful early-stage funds like Berlin's World Fund, which has launched a record-breaking €300 million climate-tech fund, are starting to fill this gap from the climate-tech perspective.

      The commitment of €280 million for this single facility, with backing from recognized partners like Siemens, ABB, NVIDIA, and AWS, constitutes the most significant European materials infrastructure announcement this year. Whether the projected 2028 opening can be maintained will depend on how swiftly public co-investment is secured alongside the existing industrial commitments.