Fifteen years in regulated life sciences, from lab instruments and bioprocess equipment to digital products, and on to product and AI strategy. I grow what I build, today through M&A, and before that as founder and CEO of my own company.
About
My path started hands-on, as a mechatronics technician. Through service, sales and product management I grew into the digital side of life sciences and learned how a technical idea turns into a product with real value in the market.
In 2018 I turned that experience into a company of my own: the world's first AI- and voice-powered lab assistant. From the first concept to a team of more than 60 people and a successful exit, I shaped it as co-founder, COO and interim CEO.
Today I work on strategy and M&A in a global life-science technology group, and I keep one foot firmly in the technology itself. What drives me is where deep technology meets a regulated, certified reality, and the strategy that turns it into value.
Career
Eleven years from the lab floor to global software product management
The foundation of my life-science background, moving step by step through service, sales, product and marketing into software, where technical craft turned into strategic product thinking.
Co-Founder, COO and Interim CEO
The first voice- and AI-based laboratory assistant. I turned my own idea into a company by convincing Sartorius and BCG Digital Ventures to invest and co-found LabTwin, then built and scaled it over eight years with end-to-end responsibility for operations, through to an exit in the merger with Labforward.
Strategy and M&A in the pharma business of the Körber Group
I drive strategic projects and M&A initiatives across the Körber Pharma Group in a newly created Strategy department, working directly with the Group CEO, from deal sourcing and valuation to due diligence and post-deal integration. I designed and applied the strategy project's agentic AI approach myself, to speed up research and market mapping.
Projects
A mix of what I founded, what I am building now, and where I give back.
2018 – 2025
The world's first voice- and AI-powered lab assistant
My own idea, which I turned into a venture by convincing Sartorius and BCG Digital Ventures to co-found it. As co-founder, COO and interim CEO I built the product, the team and the business, up to seven-figure annual revenue and a successful exit. I also designed and built out our Berlin office, shown here.
Finding missing people from the air, and the software that makes it work
I volunteer with the Rettungshundestaffel Nordelbe and run the drone-based search for missing people. To make one drone useful to the whole team, I built the system behind it: a local, offline map that turns a thermal hit into a precise coordinate on every team's tablet, so the right team is on its way within seconds.
Running modern AI on my own infrastructure, in private
I run my own infrastructure to put modern AI through its paces: local language models and my own data, fully self-hosted and private. It is where I try things hands-on before I form an opinion on them, and it keeps me close to the technology I shape on the strategy side.
Daily routines, handled by agents
A small fleet of agents that quietly handles my daily routine: monitoring the news, keeping an eye on the markets and automating my inbox. Honestly, not because I need to, but because I like to build it and see what it can do. Under the hood, a main agent hands tasks to specialised sub-agents that reach my tools and data through different MCPs, with n8n for the glue and a mix of local and frontier models.
AI-assisted documentation of laboratory workflows
Named inventor on two patents covering a method that automatically documents lab workflows: AI models classify unstructured data such as measurements, spoken notes and device readings, and a human specialist reviews low-confidence cases to improve the system over time.
For founders in regulated, security-sensitive markets
Wherever startups and scaleups need expertise in regulated industries, digital products and ISMS frameworks, I step in as an advisor. It is the same ground I covered building and certifying my own company, from product strategy to ISO 27001, now put to work for other founders.
Skills
// strategy by day, homelab by night
const steffen = {
roots: ['Mechatronics', 'Product', 'Ops'],
built: 'LabTwin: voice AI (exited)',
now: ['Strategy & M&A', 'AI'],
stack: ['LLMs', 'Proxmox', 'automation'],
role: 'operator & builder',
};
steffen.build();Contact
Whether it is exchanging ideas or working on something together, I look forward to hearing from you.