Germany’s SME firms ‘Mittelstand’ cuts AI investments in 2025, study shows

Germany’s small and medium-sized companies, ‍collectively known as ​the Mittelstand, are putting the brakes ⁠on artificial intelligence (AI) investment, a study showed, even as overall corporate spending on AI applications rises.

In a survey ‌of 200 ‌Mittelstand firms published on Thursday, management consultancy Horvath found these ‌companies spent 0.35% of their revenues on AI technologies in 2025, down from 0.41% in 2024.