Dunia Innovations has announced plans for Berlin GigaLab, an ambitious €280 million facility designed to industrialize the discovery and development of advanced materials using AI-driven autonomous infrastructure. The 6,000 square-meter facility represents a significant investment in deeptech infrastructure aimed at bridging the gap between computational material design and real-world manufacturing.
The Berlin-based company, founded in 2022, is positioning GigaLab as the first facility of its kind to conduct scientific experimentation at industrial scale. The facility will integrate autonomous experimentation systems, AI-guided material design, digital simulation capabilities, and industrial-grade characterization equipment. Construction is expected to begin with operations commencing in 2028.
Strategic Backing from Industrial Leaders
The project has attracted substantial support from a consortium of major industrial and technology partners. Siemens, ABB Robotics, NVIDIA, AWS, ILS, and Merck are backing the initiative, reflecting broad confidence in the facility’s potential to transform materials science. This coalition of partners spans automation, cloud computing, pharmaceuticals, and industrial chemicals—sectors that depend heavily on material innovation.
Dr Alex Hammer, CEO and Co-Founder of Dunia Innovations, articulated the vision underlying the project: “With AI already dreaming up millions of new materials, the demand for experimental verification is exploding. We need factories that do science at industrial scale. GigaLab will be the first facility of its kind to do exactly that, removing material bottlenecks in frontier technologies.”
Economic and Employment Impact
The facility is projected to create over 200 jobs once operational, contributing to Berlin’s growing deeptech ecosystem. The investment underscores the city’s emergence as a hub for materials science and AI-driven manufacturing innovation, complementing Germany’s broader industrial automation capabilities.
The GigaLab project addresses a critical bottleneck in materials science: while artificial intelligence has accelerated the computational discovery of candidate materials, experimental validation remains time-consuming and expensive. By automating the experimentation and characterization processes, Dunia aims to dramatically reduce the cycle time from material discovery to industrial application.
Broader European Context
Dunia Innovations’ ambitious expansion reflects growing European recognition of the strategic importance of materials science in maintaining technological competitiveness. As supply chain vulnerabilities and the transition to green technologies create urgency around advanced material development, initiatives like GigaLab position Europe to accelerate innovation cycles that have historically lagged behind competitors in other regions.
The facility also demonstrates how European startups can mobilize capital and industrial partnerships at scale, combining venture-backed agility with the resources and expertise of established industrial players. The €280 million commitment signals confidence in both Dunia’s technology platform and the broader market opportunity in industrialized materials discovery—a trend likely to influence investment priorities across the European startup ecosystem in coming years.