Thomas Dingler

Technology enthusiast w/ passion for building great digital products

[Ole Lehmann @itsolelehmann]

Germany is a sleeping giant of physical AI

everyone's been writing Germany off in the AI race because there's no German OpenAI and no big data center story.

but theres actually two AI races happening:

the first is software. chatbots, LLMs, data centers. US/China are winning that, not even close.

the second one is physical. robots that pick up boxes, weld cars, carry groceries, stack pallets.

and on this one Germany is one of the top contenders in the world

this stat might convince you (it convinced me):

Germany is 3rd in the world for robots per factory workers (449 robots per 10,000 human workers).

only South Korea (1,220) and Singapore (818) are ahead.

Japan is behind at 446. the US is all the way back at 307.

so Germany already runs more of its economy on robots than almost anywhere else on earth.

and the German companies building this next wave of physical AI are some global heavyweights.

a few worth knowing...

> Neura Robotics in Metzingen is building humanoid robots and raising €1B from Tether at a €4B valuation (this was March 2026). Volvo already in from an earlier round.

> Sereact in Stuttgart raised $110M in April 2026 to build the software brain that lets robots see and grab things. already runs 1 billion+ real-world picks for BMW, Mercedes, and Daimler Truck.

> Agile Robots in Munich was the worlds first robotics unicorn. revenue doubling yearly, around €200M now, heading for €1B.

>RobCo in Munich raised $100M in early 2026 at a ~$500M valuation. their robots learn new tasks by watching a worker do it once instead of getting programmed line by line. already pushing into the US and aimed at the small and mid-size factories that make up most of german industry.

> Fraunhofer (Germany's network of 76 applied research labs) built the evoBOT in the video below. self-balancing, two arms, carries 100kg of cargo, being tested at Munich Airport right now.

but why is Germany specifically well positioned for physical AI though?

three things stack on top of each other.

first, the factories. Germany has thousands of family-owned precision manufacturing shops that have been logging sensor data for decades.

that data is basically the training fuel for physical AI and almost nobody else has it at this depth.

second, the customers are already there in-country.

VW, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, Bosch, Siemens. a robotics startup in Stuttgart can ship its first commercial deployment to a brand everyone recognizes in year one.

that's why Sereact's customer list reads like a german car show lol.

third, the engineer pipeline. Fraunhofer spins out companies like Agile Robots straight from its labs. KUKA built the first 6-axis electromechanical robot arm back in 1973. they've been doing this for 50 years.

so the chatbot race is mostly settled and Germany lost spectacularly

but the robot race is still early innings. and i think Germany's well positioned

[Jörg Friedrich @friedlkc]

Diesen offenen Brief von Bernd Kütscher @brotdirektor (CEO Bäckerei „Die Lohners“) an @larsklingbeil sollten alle lesen:

„Lieber Lars Klingbeil, vor genau drei Jahren standen wir abends nebeneinander. Heute kann ich nicht länger schweigen.
——
Immer am 5. Mai feiern wir den Tag des Deutschen Brotes. Vor genau drei Jahren, am Abend des 5. Mai 2023, wurden Sie für ein Jahr zum Brotbotschafter ernannt (Foto).

Heute sind Sie Finanzminister. Ich selbst trage inzwischen Verantwortung für über 2.000 Menschen. Immer öfter höre ich, dass trotz guter Löhne und Überstunden am Monatsende nichts übrig bleibt.

Wir sehen es auch in den Fachgeschäften: Kunden zögern, greifen oft zu unserer Friedenskruste, die wir als Zeichen gegen Krieg und Inflation bewusst preisgünstig anbieten: 750 g Mischbrot mit Natursauerteig für nur 2,50 €.

Brot war Symbol für Würde, Genuss und Heimat. Heute wird es zur Frage des Geldbeutels.
——
Herr Klingbeil, Sie haben letztes Jahr 990 Milliarden Steuern eingenommen. Fast eine Billion - absoluter Rekord! Dazu 600 Milliarden „Sondervermögen". Ein neuer Name für neue Schulden. 2026 kommen 180 Milliarden dazu. Bis 2029 planen Sie mit weiteren 800 Milliarden Schulden. Die Zinsen werden uns bald ruinieren.

Trotzdem funktioniert vieles nicht. Weder Bahn noch Bildung, weder Brücken noch Bundeswehr. Auch in Digitalisierung und andere Zukunftsfelder wurde viel zu wenig investiert.

Stattdessen lese ich von Milliarden für Klimafinanzierung im Ausland, von fast 200 Milliarden Sozialausgaben allein im Bundeshaushalt, von 305 Milliarden für das Personal der öffentlichen Hand.

Während die Wirtschaft durch falsche Weichenstellungen immer mehr Stellen abbauen muss, leisten sich Bund, Länder und Kommunen immer mehr Personal und erzeugt so nebenbei immer mehr Bürokratie. Hier sind die Prioritäten verrutscht.
——
Ihre Antwort, Herr Klingbeil? Forderung nach noch höheren Steuern. Noch mehr Umverteilung von oben nach unten. Klingt sozial. Ist es nicht.

Irgendjemand muss leisten. Früh aufstehen, Risiko tragen, Backöfen anheizen. Diese Menschen werden ausgepresst, während der Staat immer fetter wird. Deshalb verlassen immer mehr Menschen unser Land. Auch Firmen und Arbeitsplätze.
——
Die Quittung haben Sie längst: Ihre Partei war einmal Volkspartei mit über 45 Prozent. Heute steht die SPD bei 12, Tendenz fallend. Ein Wunder, dass die Parteibasis das mitmacht.

Ich erinnere Sie an Ihren Amtseid: den Nutzen des Volkes zu mehren und Schaden von ihm abzuwenden.

„Das deutsche Volk" ist im Grundgesetz kein ethnischer Begriff. Es ist die Gemeinschaft derer, die diesen Staat tragen. Die etwas leisten und zur Gesellschaft beitragen wollen. Egal aus welchem Land.

Heute habe ich zum ersten Mal politisch den Mund aufgemacht. Es muss etwas passieren. Bis bald.“

[tobi lutke @tobi]

https://t.co/5MJ7u1VHwf

[Adam Cochran (adamscochran.eth) @adamscochran]

The day after the CEO lays off a ton of staff and says:

“Non-technical teams are now pushing code to production with AI”

@coinbase has a major outage on their trading engine, and even their status page doesn’t work.

😂

[Tesla @Tesla]

FSD Supervised approved in the Netherlands 🇳🇱

[Naval @naval]

A lot of software is about to get a lot better, right before it becomes unnecessary.

[Tesla Europe, Middle East & Africa @teslaeurope]

Together with RDW, we have officially completed the final vehicle testing phase for Full Self-Driving (Supervised) and have submitted all documentation required for the UN R-171 approval + Article 39 exemptions. The RDW team is now reviewing the documentation and test results package internally. They have communicated the expected approval for Netherlands date of 4/10, shifting from 3/20 previously and we look forward to successful completion of this cooperation. 

Following the Netherlands’ approval, European countries will be able to recognize this approval nationally. We are anticipating a possible EU-wide approval during the summer.

Over the past 18 months, this approval has involved a series of intense documentation, development, testing, research & audits. Including but certainly not limited to:

– 1,600,000+ km of FSD (Supervised) testing on EU roads
– 13,000+ customer sales ride-alongs
– 4,500+ track test scenario executions
– Thousands of pages of written documentation for 400+ compliance requirements
– Dozens of research studies into safety performance/results

We're extremely proud of the work conducted with the RDW team up until this point.

We very much look forward to the approval in April, and sharing FSD (Supervised) with our patient EU customers!

[Naval @naval]

The human brain isn’t designed to process all of the world’s breaking emergencies in realtime.

[Sawyer Merritt @SawyerMerritt]

NEWS: German union IG Metall has officially failed to win a majority vote in @Tesla's German works council election, which means "Giga Berlin remains free to accelerate the future."

[Thomas Dingler @thomasdingler]

Ok. Let’s do something with it 🤓

[Thomas Dingler @thomasdingler]

Grab is now offering eSIMs directly to its users, starting in Indonesia!
It’s the first Asian super app using the Tunz platform to enable mobile data services for travelers.
This achievement was only possible thanks to the great collaboration between DT One and Tunz 🎉
With the foundation in place, my role is fully focused on helping both teams operate as one and building momentum for more large-scale app integrations.

https://t.co/Mulft1Cgtb

[André Thierig @AndrThie]

Such a great day for Giga Berlin!

Today, we informed our great Cell Team that we will invest close to 100m to enable 8GWh of cell production starting in 2027! Vertical integration at its best! From cell to vehicle in one factory - unprecedented in Europe! The future is great! 🔋

[Trust Wallet @TrustWallet]

Even more connectivity perks, unlocked:

🔹 Free 3GB Global eSIM (Gold users)
🔹 Up to 40% off Global eSIM plans (Silver & Bronze users)

Powered by @dentcoin. Terms apply.

Redeem in ‘Rewards’ → Tunz: https://t.co/13L8gLY1z7

[Jan Fleischhauer @janfleischhauer]

Da ist die SPD angekommen: Bei einem Staats- und Autoritätsverständnis, gegen das sogar Konrad Adenauer liberal wirkt. Ich schlage umgehende Erweiterung des Paragraph 188 StGB (Politikerbeleidigung) um den Tatbestand des unwillkürlichen Lachens vor.

[Tesla Europe, Middle East & Africa @teslaeurope]

Tesla has been working hard toward shipping Full Self-Driving (Supervised) in Europe for over 12 months now. We have given FSD demos to regulators of almost every EU country. We have requested early access, pilot release programs or exemptions where possible.

We have developed & shared detailed safety evidence for FSD, now public in our latest Safety Report. And we have driven over 1 million kilometers safely on EU roads across 17 different countries (internal testing). 

Our main path to success is partnering with the Dutch approval authority RDW to gain exemption for the feature. This involves proving compliance with existing regulations (UN-R-171 DCAS) + filing an exemption (EU Article 39) for yet-to-be-regulated behaviors like Level 2 systems off-highway, system-initiated lane changes with hands-off the wheel etc. 

Some of these regulations are outdated and rules-based, which makes FSD illegal in its current form. Changing FSD to be compliant with these rules would make it unsafe and unusable in many cases. While we have changed FSD to be maximally compliant where it is logical and reasonable, we won't sacrifice the safety of a proven system or materially deteriorate customer usability. 

As a result, we are gathering evidence to get exemptions on a specific rule-by-rule basis. Unfortunately, the real world fleet-proven safety wins alone are considered insufficient. 

Currently, RDW has committed to granting Netherlands National approval in February 2026. Please contact them via link below to express your excitement & thank them for making this happen as soon as possible. Upon NL National approval, other EU countries can immediately recognize the exemption and also allow rollout within their country. Then we will bring it to a TCMV vote for official EU-wide approval. 

We're excited to bring FSD to our owners in Europe soon!

https://t.co/FhoK0xX81r

[The Tesla Newswire @TeslaNewswire]

🔥🇪🇺 Tesla FSD test vehicle spotted in Barcelona, Spain!

The testing is under the EU, not UNECE, which means the EU may conduct its own tests to gather data and verify Tesla’s safety claims.

Could FSD finally be coming to Europe soon?

[Blocktrainer @blocktrainer]

Die Abschaffung der Haltefrist ist auch im Sinne der @spdbt und soll laut dem Bundestagsabgeordneten Jens Behrens zu einem späteren Zeitpunkt angegangen werden. 👀

[atulit @atulit_gaur]

I still think about this a lot

[Digital Asset Yield Summit @Yield_Summit]

As we fast approach Staking Summit & @efdevcon here’s our city guide & tips for Buenos Aires.

Areas to stay:
- Recoleta - belle époque side of buenos aires
- Palermo - hip neighbourhood - design shops, street art, lots of cafes
- Puerto Madero - modern waterfront

Money:
You may only need cash for small purchases at boutiques or fair stalls. For the rest use cards like https://t.co/5Xg0arSEd2 cash.

eSim:
@dentcoin got you covered. All Staking Summit attendees get 10gb eSims. 🫡

Transport:
- Cabify is most reliable. Uber is a great fallback option. - Public transport - most likely you will not need it.

Food:
- Parrillas (steakhouses): Dandy Grill, Don Julio, Parrilla Pobre Luis, Parrilla Peña
- Bodegon (taverns): El Preferido de Palermo, El Federal Bar, La Capitana
- Fine dining: Aramburu, Crizia, Julia Restaurante
For barbeque and fine dining - book places in advance and show up early. Dinner time is around 9pm
- Seafood: La Pescadorita, Crizia (great seafood options)
- Vegan and Vegetarian Restaurants: Sacro, Mudra, Casa Munai, Chui
- Empanadas: La Cocina, Empanadas Tremendas
- Coffee: Cuervo, Negro, Vive cafe, Fruto café
- Ice cream: Rapanui, Cadore, Dios Gelato, Heladeria Kuono

Drinks:
- Beer: Desarmadero, Strange Brewing, Blest Palermo, Baum Catrina, El Galpón de Tacuara
- Cocktails: Rey de Copas, Tres Monos, Florería Atlántico, Boticario
- Vermouth: La Fuerza Bar

Tipping: 10% is standard

Explore:
- San Telmo - old colourful neighbourhood with cobblestones, antique stores and bustling markets on sundays
- El Ateneo Grand Splendid - the largest bookstore in the world
- Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (Malba) - Latin American artists, as well as temporary exhibitions.
- Take a walk around Recoleta’s Avenida Alvear for BA’s belle epoque style architecture

Football:
Buenos Aires is home to some of the most iconic clubs in the world - Boca Juniors & River Plate. For attending matches - don’t go alone. Join locals you know or find a group on airbnb to take you to a match.

Local brands:
- Plenty of local boutiques located around Palermo & Villa Crespo areas.
- Argentina is home to some of the best leather crafts. Try Mishka for funkier designs.

Security:
Avoid using your phone on the street and stay alert for passing motorcycles. Petty theft and pickpocketing can happen in crowded areas. Stay aware but don’t stress - use common sense and you’ll be fine.

Trips:
- Tigre Delta (day trip) - cruise or kayak the canals of one of the world’s largest freshwater deltas
- Colonia del Sacramento (day trip) - beautiful colonial town in Uruguay. Easy to reach by ~1hour ferry from BA
- Iguazu falls - gigantic waterfall system in a tropical setting, on the border with Brazil.
- Mendoza - tour the vineyards by bike or car.
- Patagonia - the postcard places just 2hr flight away.

Visa:
Don’t forget to check if you need a visa to enter the country (see below).

Goods to bring back home:
- Dulce de leche,
- Alfahores confectionary
- Wine
- Leather goods

Also, for more tips on this beautiful city, check out @neshtedle @abrilzucchi @fede_intern @emilylai @julibachi @aixarizzo

The above tips are certainly not exhaustive. If we missed any of your favourite places/ experiences - drop them below