T.03 / INNOVATION

From pilots to policy

Innovation in Wildberger's record takes two forms: new products in the companies he helped lead, and — since 2025 — the conditions under which others can innovate.

AI regulation · Germany2026

Cabinet: 11 Feb 2026 — AI Act implementation law
Authority: Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur)
Tools: AI service desk, AI regulatory sandbox
In force: July 2026 (per BMDS)

Handshake at a meeting labelled “GPAI Council” on the screen behind.

Corporate innovation

Real-world examples from his companies

Launched during his tenure in the relevant role.

Corporate innovation examples
Year	Company	Innovation	Type
2014	Telstra	Telstra Discovery Store, Sydney CBD	Retail experience
2014–2015	Telstra	Telstra Air Wi-Fi network; Telstra TV	Digital services
2018–2019	E.ON	E.ON Home, with Microsoft	Smart-home energy
2020	E.ON	E.ON Next on Kraken Technologies' platform (UK)	Platform migration
2023	MediaMarktSaturn	Online marketplace (DE, AT, ES); myMediaMarkt Plus subscription; retail media	Business model

Innovation policy

Instruments since 2025

Official ministry releases; mostly single-source.

Regulation

“Lean” AI supervision

National implementation of the EU AI Act with the Bundesnetzagentur as market-surveillance authority, a coordination centre, an AI service desk and an AI regulatory sandbox.

Sandboxes

Regulatory sandboxes

Cabinet launched nationwide regulatory sandboxes (Reallabore) on 6 May 2026; Bundesrat approval followed on 25 September 2026.

Public sector

Agentic AI Hub

A pilot bringing AI start-ups into municipalities began in March 2026; a second round with 17 start-ups and 38 municipalities was announced on 1 October 2026.

Compute

Data-centre strategy

Targets at least a quadrupling of AI compute capacity in Germany by 2030.

Safety

AI Security Institute

The National Security Council decided in June 2026 to set up a German AI Security Institute, run jointly by BMDS and the Interior Ministry; its founding was announced on 31 August 2026.

Alliances

International AI pacts

Declarations or agreements with Canada (Feb 2026), India (Feb 2026) and the UK (Jul 2026). Details →

Case

Cohere and Aleph Alpha, April 2026

Verified fact

On 24 April 2026, Canadian AI company Cohere's planned acquisition of German AI developer Aleph Alpha was presented in Berlin, with Wildberger and Canada's AI minister Evan Solomon present. Reports mentioned an investment of around $600 million from the Schwarz Group. Valuation figures differ between sources and are not repeated here.

Analysis

The deal illustrates his “sovereignty through partnership” approach: a German AI champion combined with a partner from an allied country rather than remaining a standalone national project. Whether this strengthens or weakens German AI sovereignty is a matter of debate.

Political position

On AI regulation he has argued that trustworthiness can be a competitive advantage: “Especially in regulated sectors like health, administration and industry, trustworthiness becomes the decisive competitive advantage” (Bundestag, March 2026, translated).

Sources

BMDS, AI Act implementation, first reading: bmds.bund.de
Government of Canada, AI declaration, Feb 2026: canada.ca
heise online on Germany–Canada AI cooperation: heise.de
Ceconomy Capital Markets Day 2023: ceconomy-mms.com
BMDS press releases (2025–2026): bmds.bund.de