“A new era is beginning”, says Federal Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger, describing the launch of the Agentic AI Hub. The new virtual powerhouse of the Federal Ministry for Digital Transformation and Government Modernisation brings together what modern administration needs: agile startup innovation and practical municipal application.
“The BMDS has launched an extremely pragmatic and powerful initiative with the Agentic AI Hub. It is fully digital, stands out through short, fast communication channels and, above all, has a clear agenda: to bring modern agentic AI approaches into public administration quickly and easily, without losing sight of key aspects such as data protection and procurement.”
— Dr Benjamin von Ardenne, lector.ai
The Agentic AI Hub follows a clear roadmap: over a three-month pilot phase, nine selected startups are putting their technologies directly into practice in 17 municipalities. The collaboration is specifically tailored to the needs of public administration. While startups such as Celonis are optimising data quality and decision-making speed in naturalisation processes in Nuremberg and Munich, solutions from Summ AI and Leistungslotse focus on process management and simplifying complex applications such as housing benefit. Internal efficiency is also a key focus: AI agents from lector.ai, Tucan Systeme and Speechmind support mailbox organisation and automated minute-taking.
Voices from the real-world lab: how startups are experiencing the pilot phase
To gain a direct impression of implementation, we asked the participating startups from our Hubs about their experiences so far.
lector.ai: focusing on the “information assistant”
For lector.ai, the speed of the format is a decisive success factor. Commenting on the current pilot phase with the Neckar-Odenwald district, the team explains:
“The timeframe between being awarded the project and getting started was ambitious, but that is exactly what created momentum and focus on both sides from the outset. The fact that the Neckar-Odenwald district is an experienced partner, with whom we had already built AI-supported inbox automation, made the start even easier. The technical foundations are now in place, and we are currently working on the enaio integration for the information assistant.”
— Dr Max Vossel, lector.ai
The long-term impact is particularly important: the AI agent is designed to independently navigate DMS systems and prepare documents for caseworkers. At the same time, the startup emphasises: “Humans always remain in charge of the decision. The agent takes over the time-consuming research, not the professional assessment.”
Myosotis: efficiency in care administration
Myosotis GmbH, which is working with several municipalities and care homes, also draws a positive interim conclusion on the launch and the BMDS matchmaking process:
“We experienced the selection and matchmaking process as very focused. What was particularly valuable was that the process did not only look at the degree of innovation, but also at whether there was a concrete administrative use case, suitable partners and a realistic basis for implementation. That helped us move quickly into operational collaboration. For us, that is exactly the strength of the format: not just talking about innovation, but testing it together under real-world conditions.”
— Jasper Böckel, Myosotis
On the ground, Myosotis sees the greatest leverage in reducing media discontinuities and manual follow-up questions, ultimately giving everyone involved, from applicants to caseworkers, more transparency and time.
Summ.ai: scaling across seven municipalities
As part of the Hub, Summ.ai is working with an impressive list of partners, including Nettetal, Waiblingen, Rostock and the Elbe-Elster district. The team is especially impressed by the political support and the structure of the initiative:
“What positively surprised us was how hands-on and pragmatic the entire project is. You can tell that there is a real willingness to understand what often makes collaboration so difficult for startups and how these processes can be adapted. The fact that the Minister and the Parliamentary State Secretary attended the kick-off also shows how important the visibility of this topic is to everyone involved. The biweekly check-ins moderated by the Ministry are very helpful. Working with seven municipalities at the same time is not exactly easy when it comes to bringing everyone along, but everyone is highly motivated and recognises the major opportunity this project represents.”
— Flora Geske, summ.ai
For Summ.ai, the project is an essential step towards systematically mapping the process landscape of public administration. Without doing this groundwork, the startup says, digitalisation cannot work at scale.
Conclusion and outlook
This intensive phase of cooperation serves as a real-world lab for the scalability of AI in the public sector. As lector.ai aptly summarises: “All project participants are highly motivated. The project timeline is ambitious, even for startups, but thanks to the excellent support from the Agentic AI Hub team, all the threads are being brought together in the best possible way.”
The pilot will conclude with a comprehensive evaluation at the end of May, during which the project results will be analysed to lay the foundation for the long-term, nationwide use of agentic AI in German municipalities. The goal is clear: to give caseworkers back the time they need for the substantive handling of complex individual cases, supported by intelligent agents.
More information: https://bmds.bund.de/themen/kuenstliche-intelligenz/agentic-ai-hub
