Siemens CEO Roland Busch on Driving the Industrial AI Future

Industrial artificial intelligence could be reshaping how the technology sector views AI deployment, moving beyond consumer applications towards systems that manage critical infrastructure and production facilities.

This transition will take centre stage when Siemens presents at one of the world's largest consumer technology events.

The Consumer Technology Association (CTA), which organises the annual CES technology conference, has announced that Roland Busch, President and CEO of Siemens AG, will deliver a keynote address at CES 2026.

His presentation will demonstrate how Siemens is developing AI, digital twin and automation technology for manufacturing, infrastructure and transportation sectors.

Gary Shapiro, CEO and Vice Chair of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), says: "AI and digital twins will transform industrial environments, streamlining design, planning, engineering, operations and maintenance.

"Roland Busch and Siemens are showing how AI, combined with data and deep domain know-how, can reinvent entire industries."

Parallels between AI and electricity adoption

Roland draws a comparison between AI deployment and one of history's most transformative technologies. He says: "It is always a defining moment when a new general-purpose technology becomes available. There was a world before electricity; today electricity is ubiquitous.

"There was a world before AI, right now we are transitioning to a world that makes full use of it – including in factories, buildings, grids and transportation."

He adds: "Siemens is the global leader in industrial AI – AI for the real world – bringing intelligence to every machine, every device and every piece of infrastructure. We have the data, the domain know-how, and the trust of our customers and partners with whom we are scaling industrial AI."

This comparison carries weight when examining historical technology adoption patterns. General-purpose technologies have typically required decades to achieve widespread implementation across industries.

Electricity required approximately 50 years to fundamentally transform industrial production following its introduction. Whether AI will follow a similar timeline or accelerate beyond historical precedents remains uncertain.

Three-pillar AI strategy powers operations

The company has structured its AI implementation around three core approaches. "We use AI in three big ways," the CEO says, "to boost innovation and productivity, to enhance our products, and we build our own AI offerings."

Siemens is deploying applications from Google to improve its code through AI-powered tools. These same technologies are enabling the company to accelerate its bidding processes for complex projects, reducing tender application timescales from weeks to hours.

The business has also integrated AI capabilities into its existing product portfolio, now offering 38 AI-enabled products, with this figure continuing to expand.

One application involves AI that identifies optimal production paths for machine tools, enabled through Siemens' data alliance with machine tool manufacturers.

Siemens is utilising Claude, an AI model from Anthropic, the AI safety research company, to refactor its proprietary software. The AI streamlines and simplifies code, enhancing performance for both the software and connected hardware.

The company's TIA portal software is receiving updates more rapidly and with improved quality as a result.

Industrial foundation model developments

Beyond enhancing current operations, Siemens is creating new AI products, including an Industrial Foundation Model that leverages its domain expertise and industrial data from partners. The company is collaborating with AWS on AI agents designed for industrial applications.

These agents can plan, think, utilise tools and work alongside humans to accomplish objectives. Siemens' industrial copilot, developed with Microsoft, is already deployed across numerous customer sites and is delivering productivity improvements of up to 30% in manufacturing facilities.

Roland says: "At CES, we will show how we are turning this once-in-a-century opportunity into tangible benefits for industries and society."

The keynote could signal a broader recognition that industrial AI applications may require equal attention to consumer-facing technologies, particularly as manufacturing and infrastructure sectors undergo digital transformation.