In collaboration with Dr. Ulrich Seidenberger, AI Special Advisor, German Consulate General Montréal
Canada and Germany are entering a new chapter in their collaboration as like-minded democracies with shared values, one increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence, technological sovereignty, and a shared determination to build the technologies that will define their economic future.
This September, that relationship will take centre stage at ALL IN 2026, where Germany will join Canada as Country of Honour.
Led by Dr. Karsten Wildberger, Germany’s Federal Minister for Digital Transformation and Government Modernisation, Germany will bring its largest-ever technology business delegation to an AI event in Canada. The delegation will connect with Canadian policymakers, business leaders, investors, researchers and innovators during two days dedicated to turning shared priorities into concrete opportunities for collaboration.
Germany’s presence comes at an important moment. Over the past year, Canada and Germany have accelerated their cooperation on artificial intelligence and digital technologies, laying the foundations for a deeper strategic relationship between two countries with complementary strengths and shared democratic values.
At ALL IN 2026, that ambition will move from policy discussions to action.
A partnership whose time has come
Canada and Germany share a fundamental conviction: countries must have a meaningful role in shaping their technological future.
As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly important to economic growth, productivity, public services and national resilience, both countries are working to strengthen their ability to develop, deploy and govern critical technologies.
This shared ambition led to the creation of the Canada–Germany Digital Alliance, announced in Montréal in December 2025 during the meeting of G7 industry, digital and technology ministers.
The Alliance established a framework for closer cooperation in strategic areas including artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure, technological sovereignty and quantum technologies. It also seeks to create stronger connections between startups, technology providers, researchers and established companies across both markets.
Only months later, Canada and Germany took another important step.
At the Munich Security Conference in February 2026, Canada’s Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, the Honourable Evan Solomon, and Germany’s Federal Minister for Digital Transformation and Government Modernisation, Dr. Karsten Wildberger, signed a Joint Declaration of Intent on artificial intelligence.
The declaration set out concrete areas for cooperation, including sovereign digital infrastructure and computing capacity, energy-efficient data centres, talent mobility, trustworthy AI adoption and stronger connections between businesses in both countries.
Discussions have since advanced toward a potential strategic partnership to establish a Sovereign Technology Alliance between Canada, Germany and other like-minded countries.
ALL IN 2026 arrives at a pivotal moment in that growing relationship.
Complementary strengths, shared ambitions
The opportunity for Canada and Germany is particularly compelling because the two countries bring different but highly complementary strengths.
Canada has built one of the world’s most dynamic artificial intelligence research ecosystems. Institutions such as Mila, Amii and the Vector Institute, together with internationally recognized researchers and an expanding community of AI companies, have helped establish Canada as a global centre for AI research and innovation.
Germany brings deep expertise in industrial AI, i.e. applying technology to complex industrial environments.
Its strengths across advanced manufacturing, engineering, robotics, healthcare and industrial AI are complemented by extensive experience in standards, interoperability and frameworks supporting the trustworthy deployment of digital technologies.
Canada is exceptionally strong at advancing AI research and developing new capabilities. Germany has considerable expertise in transforming technological innovation into industrial applications.
Together, the two countries have an opportunity to accelerate the journey from research to commercialization and from innovation to deployment. This is a partnership built on genuine complementarity – not competition.
That complementarity is particularly valuable at a moment when countries are seeking both greater technological sovereignty and stronger relationships with trusted international partners.
Sovereignty through cooperation
For Canada and Germany, technological sovereignty does not mean isolation.
It means having agency: the ability to choose technologies, protect data, develop critical infrastructure, support domestic companies and maintain greater control over the technological systems on which economies and societies increasingly depend.
Building that capacity domestically is essential. But neither Canada nor Germany needs to pursue it alone.
Trusted international partnerships can strengthen sovereignty by giving countries access to complementary capabilities, diversified technology ecosystems and new markets while reducing excessive dependence on a small number of external technology providers.
This is where the Canada–Germany relationship holds particular promise.
Both countries share democratic values and an interest in fostering open, competitive and trustworthy technology ecosystems. Both are also seeking to translate excellence in research and innovation into economic growth, industrial capacity and globally competitive companies.
By connecting their respective strengths, Canada and Germany can help build a technological ecosystem that is more resilient, more diversified and better equipped to compete internationally.
From government commitments to ecosystem connections
ALL IN 2026 will provide a unique environment to translate this growing political relationship into practical collaboration.
Unlike broader technology events, ALL IN is entirely focused on artificial intelligence and brings together the different parts of the ecosystem required to move innovation forward: governments, enterprises, startups, investors, researchers and technology providers.
For the German delegation, this creates direct access to the Canadian AI ecosystem in one place.
Business meetings, ministerial discussions, bilateral meeting spaces and dedicated programming will provide opportunities to identify partners, explore investments, establish research collaborations and connect technologies with potential applications.
The objective extends beyond exchanging ideas.
It is about creating the conditions for concrete next steps: joint research projects, commercial partnerships, investment opportunities, market expansion and technologies that can be deployed on both sides of the Atlantic.
Germany at ALL IN 2026
Canada–Germany cooperation will be present throughout ALL IN 2026, beginning with one of the event’s opening moments.
On Wednesday, September 16 at 8:30 a.m., Dr. Karsten Wildberger and his Canadian counterpart, the Honourable Evan Solomon, will take part in the opening session. Minister Wildberger will address the priorities shaping Canada–Germany cooperation on artificial intelligence and the strategic importance of the relationship between the two countries.
Throughout the event, participants will also be able to discover Germany’s technology ecosystem at the German Pavilion.
Located at the heart of ALL IN, the Pavilion will bring together companies, research institutions and public-sector organizations seeking to build new relationships with Canadian counterparts.
Organizations represented will include:
- Baden-Württemberg International
- Baiosphere
- BG BAU
- de-hub: German Ecosystems
- DeepL
- German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI)
- Giesecke+Devrient
- Helmholtz Munich
- Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres
- Schwarz Digits
- State of Bavaria Office in Montréal
- Technical University Dresden (6G-life)
- WebID Solutions
The German AI start up ecosystem present at the German Pavilion will comprise the following German start ups:
- Summ AI (summ-ai.com) — AI-powered easy language and accessible communication
- Penemue (penemue.ai) — AI-powered protection against hate speech, disinformation and digital violence
- Mainition (mainition.de) — AI-powered customer activation and sales automation
- Alithea Bio (alithea-bio.com) — AI-powered precision immunotherapy and immunopeptidomics
- Codesphere (codesphere.com) — AI-native cloud development platform and deployment infrastructure
- ISTARI.AI (istari.ai) — Secure, trustworthy enterprise AI solutions
- de:hub Saarbrücken (southwestx.eu) — German AI Hub focused on Artificial Intelligence, cross-border innovation and startup collaboration
- de:hub Karlsruhe (digitalhub-ai.de) — German AI Hub specializing in applied AI, cybersecurity and deep tech
- de:hub Initiative (de-hub.de) — Germany's network of 25 innovation hubs connecting startups, industry, academia and government
- Neura Robotics (neura-robotics.com) — AI/robotics company building cognitive and humanoid robots that perceive, learn, and safely collaborate with humans
- Polarise (polarise.eu) — Infrastructure company building sovereign, sustainable AI data centers to power Europe's AI ambitions
- Atira (atira.ai) — AI company building agents that automate sales engineering and quoting for complex manufacturing companies
Together, these companies and institutions represent a broad spectrum of Germany’s technological capabilities, from research and infrastructure to enterprise technologies and industrial applications.
Building what comes next
Germany’s role as Country of Honour at ALL IN 2026 represents much more than a ceremonial title.
It reflects a bilateral relationship that is becoming increasingly strategic as Canada and Germany consider how artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure and technological sovereignty will shape their economic futures.
The true measure of that partnership will ultimately be what it enables both countries to build together: research collaborations, new investments, companies entering international markets, technologies deployed across industries and stronger connections between two innovation ecosystems.
ALL IN 2026 will provide an opportunity to accelerate that work
On September 16 and 17 at the Palais des congrès de Montréal, leaders from Canada and Germany will come together to strengthen existing relationships, create new ones and explore how two complementary ecosystems can turn shared values and political ambition into technological and economic opportunity.
