Groundbreaking ceremony marks start of construction work for new Cyber Valley building in Stuttgart

Stuttgart, May 15, 2025 – The Managing Director of the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS), Prof. Dr. Christoph Keplinger, together with the Minister of Science, Research and the Arts of Baden-Württemberg, Petra Olschowski (MdL), the President of the Max Planck Society, Prof. Dr. Patrick Cramer, the Mayor for Youth and Education of the City of Stuttgart, Isabel Fezer, the Rector of the University of Stuttgart, Prof. Dr. Peter Middendorf, and architect Tobias Döring, Managing Director of hammeskrause architekten, marked the start of construction work with the groundbreaking ceremony for the Cyber Valley research building on the Max Planck Campus in Stuttgart.

“The new Cyber Valley building in Stuttgart underscores the important role of cutting-edge research as a driver of regional innovation, economic growth and prosperity,” said Christoph Keplinger, who is also the Director of the Robotic Materials Department at MPI-IS.

Minister of Science Petra Olschowski added: “The groundbreaking ceremony for our new Cyber Valley research building in Büsnau marks a significant milestone. It highlights our strong commitment to positioning Baden-Württemberg as a leading hub for AI research and innovation. The new facility will offer our scientists optimal working conditions and cutting-edge technical infrastructure. It isdesigned as a collaborative center, where talents from different disciplines will come together to shape the next generation of AI innovations. We look forward to the scientific breakthroughs that will emerge from Cyber Valley in the years ahead!”

The President of the Max Planck Society, Patrick Cramer, added: “Basic research in AI and robotics can open up future worlds. With the new data center and research hall, our Stuttgart campus will have the best possible working conditions. This is a building for the future in many ways, as energy efficiency has been taken into account against the backdrop of sustainability. Last but not least, it will provide a modern, flexible working environment that fosters collaboration and brings people together.”

Peter Middendorf, Rector of the University of Stuttgart, emphasised: "We are delighted that Cyber Valley is now being established physically in Stuttgart. The new Cyber Valley research building on the Max Planck Campus in Stuttgart will provide a modern, forward-looking platform for innovation. This location will strengthen the regional ecosystem and, thanks to its proximity, facilitate closer collaboration between Cyber Valley's partners — the University of Stuttgart, the MPI-IS and the University of Tübingen — in the thriving fields of intelligent robotics, computer vision and machine learning.”

“The new Cyber Valley building is a clear commitment to Stuttgart as a center of science and technology. It strengthens our position as a city of inventive spirit and creativity, where key technologies of the future are being developed. Artificial intelligence is already fundamentally changing business, science, and society – which makes it all the more important to shape this development responsibly. The fact that Stuttgart is actively involved in this is an opportunity for the entire region. We also hope that the research results from Cyber Valley will provide important impetus for the innovative strength of the economy and for a modern, efficient city administration,” said Isabel Fezer, Mayor for Youth and Education of the City of Stuttgart.

The three-storey Cyber Valley building is located within the shared campus of the MPI-IS and the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research. With a gross floor area of around 7,400 m², the building provides ample space for research groups from the MPI-IS and the University of Stuttgart, as well as other partners from science and industry and start-ups.

In addition to offices, the building houses flexible laboratories and co-working spaces that optimally complement the campus’s robotics and AI research. The architectural highlight and heart of the building is an open space designed to promote interdisciplinary communication. Adjacent to the center of the building is a nine-meter-high, column-free research hall spanning over 1,000 m². This is roughly equivalent to the area of four tennis courts. This hall enables robotics research across all length scales.

The new building also houses a 150 m² data center designed for state-of-the-art AI research servers that meets the highest energy efficiency standards. The new building's photovoltaic system, connection to the University of Stuttgart's heating network, waste heat recovery from the servers and state-of-the-art cooling technology will make it an energy-efficient building.

The total construction costs for the new building in Stuttgart amount to just over 50 million Euros. These are shared by the Max Planck Society as the building owner and the state of Baden-Württemberg as part of a special financing arrangement. The building is scheduled for completion at the end of 2027 after two and a half years of construction.

The Cyber Valley Innovation Campus is a research hub for artificial intelligence and robotics that is unique in Europe. Founded in the Stuttgart-Tübingen region in 2016, the research consortium brings together partners from science, industry and society. The new building in Stuttgart follows a newly constructed Cyber Valley building in Tübingen, which will house parts of the Tübingen Cyber Valley activities.