Bosch Invests Heavily in AI as a Growth Driver

By the end of 2027, Bosch will invest more than €2.5 billion in the application and development of artificial intelligence. The company stated that AI is an innovation booster and growth driver for its products and services.

It added that AI makes automated driving safer, reliably checks quality in manufacturing, and makes everyday life easier for consumers at work, in their free time, and at home. Bosch was an early adopter of AI, bringing it together with in-depth industrial knowledge and thus gaining a clear competitive advantage. Furthermore, in the past five years, the company has filed more than 1,500 patent applications for inventions in the field of AI, making it one of the leading applicants in Europe.

One area where Bosch wants to utilize the advantages of AI is in assisted and automated driving. Even if momentum in this area has not yet reached its peak, Bosch does not doubt that automated driving will achieve long-term market success. The company offers the right solutions for this and is confident:

Bosch expects its sales of software, sensor technology, high-performance computers, and network components to double by the mid-2030s to well over €10 billion. Thanks to AI, the vehicle thinks ahead, anticipates how other road users will behave, and calculates the next steps to get to its destination safely. AI not only ensures greater safety in vehicles, but it also helps significantly shorten development times for new products.

In manufacturing, Bosch is already focusing on agentic AI, which is able to make its own decisions and carry out its own actions.

The technology enables various processes to run in parallel. Several AI agents can form a team, a multi-agent system that’s supervised by humans, or a coordinating agent. Bosch is already making use of this possibility in-house: multi-agent systems monitor devices in manufacturing, predict maintenance requirements, and optimize personnel scheduling.

“We’ve now reached the next level. The result is a reduction in unplanned downtime and an increase in productivity overall,” says Tanja Rueckert, member of the Bosch board of management.

AI is an innovation booster for Bosch, not only in the areas of industrial production and automated mobility but throughout the entire company. For example, the intelligent Bosch Revol crib can be used to monitor a child’s vital signs, such as heart and respiratory rate. On an e-bike, AI helps dispel range anxiety with the Range Control feature, and in the kitchen, it takes on the role of chef. Artificial intelligence also helps with DIY: a wall scanner can look inside walls and detect electrical cables, metal beams, and empty spaces.

The company fosters the development of AI skills in-house through its AI Academy, which has trained over 65,000 associates since 2019. Nearly 5,000 AI specialists are working on intelligent AI solutions. AI skills are essential for the future of the working world outside of Bosch as well. A majority of people have already recognized the implications of AI. According to the Bosch Tech Compass, four out of five respondents worldwide plan to pursue AI training, and around two-thirds are in favor of AI as a school subject. In Germany, 72% believe that AI will be the dominant technology of the next decade in their country.