Far from the familiar giants like Apple or Google, Siemens operates subtly in the background, infusing its technology in our day-to-day living. From the buildings we reside and work in, to the cars we navigate and the factories that produce them, Siemens’ innovative technology is intertwined within modern life’s infrastructure. CEO of Siemens, Roland Busch, recently offered insight into the company’s operations, ambitions, and its changing global strategy through an interview with Decoder.
With its establishment over 170 years ago, Siemens has consistently evolved, mirroring the rate at which technology modifies itself. Presently, its transition is guided by digitalization and artificial intelligence. While its subsidiaries, Siemens Healthineers and Siemens Energy, are fairly self-explanatory, the primary Siemens business encompasses a wider range. As per Busch, Siemens propels other companies to transform their businesses. It provides technologies from digital twins and automation software to smart infrastructure.
While Siemens is renowned for automating the tangible world – factories, trains, buildings, Busch anticipates the company venturing into automating the digital world. This includes digitizing decision-making processes, such as procurement and accounting means. With the help of AI, Siemens has begun a deep integration into its platforms to realize a fully automated factory—one that not only yields goods but also self-optimizes in real-time using digital inputs.
Given its vast structure with 320,000 employees globally, Siemens is split into four main business sectors—Digital Industries, Smart Infrastructure, Siemens Mobility, and Siemens Healthineers. Despite having independent P&L for each division, Siemens is gradually shifting towards a horizontally-integrated model with programs like the ONE Tech. This approach breaks down barriers to create shared technology, sales, and data “fabrics” across divisions.
Busch acknowledges the cultural shift that comes with such a transformation. While he advocates for AI and automation, he also emphasizes appreciating every employee regardless of their job role. His vision is to modernize without marginalizing, distributing focus equally to traditional hardware and modern developments.
Companies like Siemens, having benefited from globalization with their major operations in Germany, the U.S., China, and India, are now compelled to evolve amidst rising geopolitical tensions and trade barriers. As highlighted by Busch, Siemens is gearing up for localization of production and sourcing, especially in sensitive areas like semiconductors. Although still endorsing free trade, it is prepared for a world where free trade could fade.
Another sensitive aspect of the vision of Siemens is the role of automation vis-à-vis employment. Busch accepts that fully automated factories mean more production with fewer people. Yet, in societies that are gradually growing older such as Germany and Japan, this isn’t necessarily a disadvantage. Available labor can be redirected to in-demand sectors like healthcare and social services.
In addition to automating machinery, Siemens is also creating AI agents that can supervise, diagnose, and even rectify issues on the factory floor. With extensive data, generic large language models are fine-tuned for optimum accuracy in industrial usage. To build trust and facilitate data sharing for these models, Siemens has allied with machine builders. Such collaborations, based on mutual trust and Siemens’ enduring relationships, enable leveraging collective data effectively.
Not one to overlook potential risks, Busch cites scenarios like a possible disruption in NATO or a significant geopolitical crisis in Taiwan, among others. Siemens is proactively incorporating flexibility into its operations, developing software that can function on varying LLMs depending on the country in question. This thoughtful approach enhances resilience against unforeseen instabilities.
As for the future of Siemens, Busch is confident about the company’s commitment to bridging the gap between digital and physical worlds using AI and digital twin technology. The objective is to emerge as an industry leader in industrial AI, assist large-scale operations transformation for clients like PepsiCo, and logistics firms. But beyond its professional aspirations, Siemens stays committed to global collaboration despite the shift toward nationalism and trade barriers. Busch’s optimism is anchored in responsible and inclusive technological use to solve global issues—in spite of the size or scale. “We can’t solve it if we box ourselves too small,” he emphasizes, “So scale it.”
For an in-depth understanding, listen to the full interview on Decoder.
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