Dr. Josef Plank

Germany's Hightech Agenda has evolved from a draft to the cabinet-approved version with a new sub-objective referencing quantum software and applications. This is a welcome recognition of the importance of quantum software but it is equally important to recognize that this is only the start of a necessary mindset change to achieve technological leadership! After many meetings and personal discussions, one thing is clear: my concerns about the current strategies for quantum computing on a German and European level are not mine alone. There is a growing consensus that Germany and Europe are not putting enough strategic weight on quantum software. The Hightech-Agenda still subordinates software under a hardware effort, whereas the past years have shown that the two spheres are developing independent of each other.   #Software is where Europe has its greatest chance right now to achieve global technological leadership. Companies like Kipu Quantum, leading academics, industry heavyweights, and influential associations like Bitkom and QUTAC have been calling to strengthen this sector independantly of the (required) support for German and European quantum hardware providers.   With targeted investment it is entirely realistic to build a strategic lead in quantum software. In fact, I would argue this is one of the few areas where Europe can not only catch up but pull ahead.   That is why I welcome the fact that Bitkom has included some of our key proposals in their latest position paper: "𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘮 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘈𝘭𝘨𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘮𝘴, 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘏𝘗𝘊 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭-𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴."   However, position papers alone won’t change the trajectory, we know this and so my team and I will continue to push: meeting with members of Bundestag, Bundesregierung and European Commission, engaging with industry and academia, and encouraging all institutions that are ready to act.    We are ready to provide our input in this important discussion because we believe that taxpayers deserve to see a tangible return in the form of economic growth, innovation leadership, and real industrial capabilities.   Yes, it will be harder for journalists and photographers, as pictures of huge quantum systems and mysterious boxes are more visually striking than lines of code but we know exactly what needs to be done. Now we have to do it.

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Europe has the talent — now it’s time to bet on ourselves. When Sandra Navidi and I met in Davos during World Economic Forum, one question kept coming back: What will it take for Europe to build global tech champions? We continued that conversation on ntvNachrichten’s BIZ & beyond podcast with Ulrich Reitz. From building Europe’s first venture studio, finleap, in Berlin to now leading early-stage investing at Motive Ventures in New York, that vantage point shapes how I see Europe’s path forward. Here’s what I believe: ▪️ Europe has great ideas — but we lack the structures, speed, and capital to scale them. ▪️Especially in later stages, we hesitate to go all in — and when capital finally comes, it’s often not European. ▪️We should learn from the U.S. — but not everything that shines is gold. ▪️Our real strengths, like quality of life and global talent, are already here. ▪️Capital matters. But culture decides. If we want to build global champions, we need belief. Belief that we can build big — and the urgency to work for it. That mindset is one of the few things Europe should take from the U.S. In short: If Europe wants to become a true tech force, the time to act is now. And it starts by betting on ourselves. A big thank you to Sandra and Ulrich for an insightful, thought-provoking discussion. And about that headline calling me “Tech-Wunderkind” — it made me smile. Feels good to be young again 😄 🎧 Listen via the link in the comments (German only). #Capital #Entrepreneurship #Europe #Leadership #Fintech

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Everyone Talks About AI – But What Is Its Real Impact? Together with manager magazin, Porsche Consulting is launching the new AI Impact Award to make the value of artificial intelligence more visible for business and society. In spring 2026, the AI Impact Award will be given for the first time to companies from the DACH region that successfully apply AI in practice and generate significant impact. AI is widely recognized as a key driver of innovation — but what about its real value? The true impact of new technologies only becomes clear when they are applied. That’s exactly what the AI Impact Award is designed to highlight: the real-world transfer from idea to impact. 🏆 Awards will be presented in three categories: ➡️ Product & Customer Experience ➡️ Production & Supply Chain ➡️ Organization & Administration Winners will be selected by an independent jury of leading personalities from academia and industry. I’m excited about this new partnership with manager magazin, and the collaboration with Deputy Editor-in-Chief Simone Salden and her team. We encourage companies from the German-speaking region to apply: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eaG7F7MH #AIImpactAward #AIIA #ArtificialIntelligence #Innovation #DigitalTransformation

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In the news: I did not make it to the hairdresser before, but thank you to Christian Feld and Tagesschau for still featuring me on the German evening news for the start of the AI Act general-purpose AI model rules. We discussed a number of things; the quote that ended up on TV is about copyright transparency rules on how they might enable follow-on damage claims by rights holders. It is a bit hard, however, to do justice to a highly complex regulatory regime in 15 second statements :-) So, here's my more extended take: 1) I am quite happy about: – the prohibitions (Article 5) – AI literacy (Article 4) – general transparency (Article 50) – the GPAI rules (Articles 51-56) See: https://lnkd.in/enjKwNT2 2) I have more mixed feelings about the high-risk rules, particularly due to unresolved interactions with sectoral regulations, the GDPR, and tort law. See: https://lnkd.in/e6UAd_ai 3) The simplification process will hopefully be a good point to clean this up without gutting the core parts of the Act (see 1)). 4) The concept of "systemic risk" remains an epic fail due to the unnecessary restriction to the "most advanced" models. Hallucinations – a key problem with Generative AI – are likely not covered, for example. Paper on this forthcoming. 5) Regulation is, of course, not generally bad for innovation. Empirical studies show that it very much depends on the type of regulation, and that legal regimes can actually foster innovation. Europe's problems with AI advancement have little to do with the AI Act and a lot with lack of VC financing, access to a absolute top-notch talent, and the general risk mentality among significant parts of the population and incumbent entrepreneurs. See: https://lnkd.in/e43tuk7J; https://lnkd.in/emQEvHFJ; https://lnkd.in/emvfVY59 6) Now: off to the mountains for some decent digital detox. Enjoy your summer! European New School of Digital Studies Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder)

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