Areas of Expertise

  • Cybersecurity and international relations
  • Surveillance
  • Cyber norms
  • China  

Short Bio

Dr. Valentin Weber is a senior associate fellow in DGAP’s Center for Geopolitics, Geoeconomics, and Technology. His research covers the emergence of cyber norms, the geopolitics of cyberspace, advanced surveillance technologies, and, more broadly, the intersection between cyber and national security.

Weber is also a China Foresight Associate at LSE IDEAS, the foreign policy think tank of the London School of Economics and Political Science. In summer 2023, he was a visiting researcher at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. In 2019, he researched information controls as an Open Technology Fund Senior Fellow with the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University.

Weber has contributed to a White Paper for the US Joint Chiefs of Staff as well as to major news outlets including Die Zeit, Deutsche Welle, South China Morning Post, and the Associated Press.

He holds a PhD in cyber security from the University of Oxford and studied at Sciences Po Paris, the Johns Hopkins University, and the London School of Economics. While at Oxford, he was also a research affiliate with the university’s Centre for Technology and Global Affairs.

Languages

German, English

 

[Last updated: January 2026]

 

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Dr. Valentin Weber

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Publications

Tech Cooperation and Tech Sovereignty in the New World Order

Author/s
Dr. Katja Muñoz
Dr. Valentin Weber
The EU and Germany have built a digital state on infrastructure they don’t control. AI systems are embedded in critical operations ranging from municipal services to the Bundeswehr, while lock-in windows close. Germany has the economic capacity and research capabilities, but political will is lacking.
Memo

China’s Embodied AI: A Path to AGI

Author/s
Dr. Valentin Weber
China is embracing “embodied AI”—artificial intelligence integrated with physical agents, such as robots and drones—both for commercial reasons and as a path to artificial general intelligence (AGI). The trend reflects China’s signature approach to AI, which recognizes diverse paths to AI dominance vis-à-vis the large models favored in the United States. This report documents PRC support for AI embodiment, describes how it is understood by China’s research community, and maps out the related infrastructure.
External Publications

The Geopolitics of Batteries

How Europe Can Reclaim Energy Storage Sovereignty Before It’s Too Late
Author/s
Michael Laha
Dr. Valentin Weber
Maria Pericàs Riera
et al.
China recently announced sweeping export controls that cover large parts of the battery value chain. Coming amid a turbulent period for Europe’s battery sector, these measures are the latest in a string of geopolitical shocks that underscore Europe’s fragile energy storage sovereignty. Against this background, this collection of DGAP Memos provides a one-stop shop for the geopolitics of batteries and what Europe can do to reclaim sovereignty in this critical area.
Report

In the media