Schwarz Digits opens major AI campus in Bad Friedrichshall

The parent company Schwarz, which also includes Lidl and Kaufland, had financed the project as a billion-euro investment largely through the company's own Dieter Schwarz Foundation. The state of Baden-Württemberg is also contributing 50 million euros to the start-up financing. The owner and founder of the group is Dieter Schwarz, an entrepreneur born in Heilbronn, whom the US magazine "Forbes" lists as currently the richest German, with an estimated fortune of around 53 billion euros.

From corporate IT to hyperscaler

With the opening, Schwarz Digits aims, in its own words, to lay the foundation for one of Europe's largest ecosystems for artificial intelligence. The group is targeting becoming a so-called hyperscaler — a major cloud provider capable of competing with international tech corporations. In the most recent fiscal year, which ended at the end of February, Schwarz Digits generated revenue of 2.2 billion euros, according to the group, a growth of 16 percent compared with the previous year.

Schwarz Digits originally started as an internal IT service provider for Lidl and Kaufland. With more than 14,000 stores across Europe, a network has emerged that has to function automatically, explained the head of Schwarz Digits, Christian Müller. The new campus is deliberately not meant to look like the IT department of a grocery retailer, but like a technology company from Silicon Valley, it was said.

Policymakers and business see potential — and catch-up needs

At the opening, Müller expressed confidence about the coming years without citing concrete figures: "Wir werden sehr gute Umsatzzuwächse haben". At the kickoff, he also said: "Wir sind gekommen, um zu bleiben". The site is also intended to bring together research, development and corporate settlement in order to retain talent and skilled workers in the region.

Economist Irene Bertschek of the Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research sees the project as a signal for the region. Alongside large centers such as those in the Heilbronn area, which "Schlagkraft erzeugen" and drive major developments, applications are needed across the board. The decisive factor is creating good conditions for talent and skilled workers in research and industry.

Startup founder Viacheslav Gromov of Aitad GmbH called for more speed and a shift in mindset. "Um digital souverän zu werden, braucht man eine starke Wirtschaft, Kooperation mit kleinen, schnellen, agilen Start-ups, die auch schnell groß werden können", he said. Gromov also pointed out that investments of this scale are unique in the Heilbronn area. "Aber Investitionen in diesem großen Ausmaß, die sind schon einzigartig hier in diesem Raum Heilbronn."

Federal Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger (CDU) sees a great deal of momentum in the project but also stresses the lag: "Wir haben 15 Jahre Wegstrecke aufzuholen". The state government in Stuttgart hopes the settlement will provide new impetus for Baden-Württemberg as a business location, which is suffering from the crisis in the automotive industry and ongoing transformation pressure.

Transport connection delayed

The connection of the site to local public transport is meanwhile being delayed: the Stadtbahn stop "Bad Friedrichshall Süd," originally planned for 2026 and primarily intended for the campus, will according to the current status not go into operation until 2027. The new site will therefore remain more dependent on car and bus connections for the time being.

Schwarz Digits is one of five divisions of the corporate group, whose total revenue most recently stood at 185.6 billion euros. With the new campus, the group is positioning itself as a German counterweight to international tech giants and tying this ambition to the buzzword of Europe's "digital sovereignty." Christian Müller said in this context that the company wanted "der digitale, souveräne Hyperscaler Europas werden".

The site is part of the larger "Innovation Park Artificial Intelligence" project, which is intended to bring together research institutions, startups and established companies. The aim is to create an AI ecosystem in the medium term that, according to Bertschek, can have a Europe-wide impact. With an area equivalent to around 42 football fields, the new campus is considered one of the largest projects of its kind in Europe.

The opening also marks the launch of day-to-day operations: employees from the previous locations will move into the new buildings step by step. Full operations are to be reached by the end of the year. The opening on July 21, 2026 thus marks the start of a multi-year build-up phase in which the site will continue to grow and network with research partners and startups from the region.