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Driven by a vision to scale the impact of Brainlab and create a catalyst for healthtech innovation, Stefan Vilsmeier founded Snke in 2025. By delivering a trustworthy orchestration layer, Snke empowers healthcare providers, clinical societies, patients and other healthtech companies to deploy and utilize cutting-edge solutions for improving treatments and enhancing patient outcomes.

In 1989, Vilsmeier enrolled at the Technical University of Munich to study computer programming and medical technology theory. However, his passion for developing computer-assisted medical technology quickly took precedence. During his first semester, he founded Brainlab and served as its President and CEO for 35 years. In 2025, Vilsmeier took a step back from Brainlab in order to focus on leading the new Snke organization.

During his tenure at Brainlab, Vilsmeier was committed to realizing his vision of the “hospital of the future,” continuously advancing solutions that enable more precise and less invasive treatments. Over the past 35 years, under Vilsmeier’s leadership and vision, Brainlab has transformed of the lives of tens of millions of patients with groundbreaking technologies. Time and again, Brainlab innovations have pushed the boundaries of what’s medically possible, reshaping entire clinical disciplines. In a highly regulated industry, barriers can often slow the adoption of new healthcare technologies. To power innovation and empower healthtech innovators to contribute, advance medicine and accelerate patient impact, Vilsmeier founded Snke—a company designed to fast-track medical innovation and drive meaningful change. Since Snke became independent, Vilsmeier has already developed meaningful healthtech for the German Spine Society (DWG) benefitting over 150 clinics in DACH alone.

For his outstanding contributions to economic growth and his role as an entrepreneurial leader, Stefan Vilsmeier has received numerous prestigious honors. In 2018, he was appointed to the advisory board for SMEs of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy, as well as the German Chancellor’s Innovation Dialogue. In 2002, the World Economic Forum (WEF) named him one of its “Global Leaders for Tomorrow 2003.” That same year, Ernst & Young awarded him with the title of “World Entrepreneur of the Year 2002,” following his recognition as Germany’s national winner in 2001. At the Bavarian Innovation Awards in 2000, Vilsmeier was the only nominee to receive a special award for innovative leadership and marketing strategies. In recognition of his achievements, Bavarian Prime Minister Edmund Stoiber presented him with the state’s highest honor, the Bavarian Order of Merit.

“The next decade won’t be about advancing the standard of care—it will be about preventing its decline in a healthcare system with fewer resources. This is our purpose at Snke—we’re scaling healthtech with data-driven innovation, driving smarter decisions for better patient outcomes.” —Stefan Vilsmeier, Founder, Snke

Driven by a vision to scale the impact of Brainlab and create a catalyst for healthtech innovation, Stefan Vilsmeier founded Snke in 2025. By delivering a trustworthy orchestration layer, Snke empowers healthcare providers, clinical societies, patients and other healthtech companies to deploy and utilize cutting-edge solutions for improving treatments and enhancing patient outcomes.

In 1989, Vilsmeier enrolled at the Technical University of Munich to study computer programming and medical technology theory. However, his passion for developing computer-assisted medical technology quickly took precedence. During his first semester, he founded Brainlab and served as its President and CEO for 35 years. In 2025, Vilsmeier took a step back from Brainlab in order to focus on leading the new Snke organization.

During his tenure at Brainlab, Vilsmeier was committed to realizing his vision of the “hospital of the future,” continuously advancing solutions that enable more precise and less invasive treatments. Over the past 35 years, under Vilsmeier’s leadership and vision, Brainlab has transformed of the lives of tens of millions of patients with groundbreaking technologies. Time and again, Brainlab innovations have pushed the boundaries of what’s medically possible, reshaping entire clinical disciplines. In a highly regulated industry, barriers can often slow the adoption of new healthcare technologies. To power innovation and empower healthtech innovators to contribute, advance medicine and accelerate patient impact, Vilsmeier founded Snke—a company designed to fast-track medical innovation and drive meaningful change. Since Snke became independent, Vilsmeier has already developed meaningful healthtech for the German Spine Society (DWG) benefitting over 150 clinics in DACH alone.

For his outstanding contributions to economic growth and his role as an entrepreneurial leader, Stefan Vilsmeier has received numerous prestigious honors. In 2018, he was appointed to the advisory board for SMEs of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy, as well as the German Chancellor’s Innovation Dialogue. In 2002, the World Economic Forum (WEF) named him one of its “Global Leaders for Tomorrow 2003.” That same year, Ernst & Young awarded him with the title of “World Entrepreneur of the Year 2002,” following his recognition as Germany’s national winner in 2001. At the Bavarian Innovation Awards in 2000, Vilsmeier was the only nominee to receive a special award for innovative leadership and marketing strategies. In recognition of his achievements, Bavarian Prime Minister Edmund Stoiber presented him with the state’s highest honor, the Bavarian Order of Merit.

“The next decade won’t be about advancing the standard of care—it will be about preventing its decline in a healthcare system with fewer resources. This is our purpose at Snke—we’re scaling healthtech with data-driven innovation, driving smarter decisions for better patient outcomes.” —Stefan Vilsmeier, Founder, Snke

Driven by a vision to scale the impact of Brainlab and create a catalyst for healthtech innovation, Stefan Vilsmeier founded Snke in 2025. By delivering a trustworthy orchestration layer, Snke empowers healthcare providers, clinical societies, patients and other healthtech companies to deploy and utilize cutting-edge solutions for improving treatments and enhancing patient outcomes.

In 1989, Vilsmeier enrolled at the Technical University of Munich to study computer programming and medical technology theory. However, his passion for developing computer-assisted medical technology quickly took precedence. During his first semester, he founded Brainlab and served as its President and CEO for 35 years. In 2025, Vilsmeier took a step back from Brainlab in order to focus on leading the new Snke organization.

During his tenure at Brainlab, Vilsmeier was committed to realizing his vision of the “hospital of the future,” continuously advancing solutions that enable more precise and less invasive treatments. Over the past 35 years, under Vilsmeier’s leadership and vision, Brainlab has transformed of the lives of tens of millions of patients with groundbreaking technologies. Time and again, Brainlab innovations have pushed the boundaries of what’s medically possible, reshaping entire clinical disciplines. In a highly regulated industry, barriers can often slow the adoption of new healthcare technologies. To power innovation and empower healthtech innovators to contribute, advance medicine and accelerate patient impact, Vilsmeier founded Snke—a company designed to fast-track medical innovation and drive meaningful change. Since Snke became independent, Vilsmeier has already developed meaningful healthtech for the German Spine Society (DWG) benefitting over 150 clinics in DACH alone.

For his outstanding contributions to economic growth and his role as an entrepreneurial leader, Stefan Vilsmeier has received numerous prestigious honors. In 2018, he was appointed to the advisory board for SMEs of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy, as well as the German Chancellor’s Innovation Dialogue. In 2002, the World Economic Forum (WEF) named him one of its “Global Leaders for Tomorrow 2003.” That same year, Ernst & Young awarded him with the title of “World Entrepreneur of the Year 2002,” following his recognition as Germany’s national winner in 2001. At the Bavarian Innovation Awards in 2000, Vilsmeier was the only nominee to receive a special award for innovative leadership and marketing strategies. In recognition of his achievements, Bavarian Prime Minister Edmund Stoiber presented him with the state’s highest honor, the Bavarian Order of Merit.

“The next decade won’t be about advancing the standard of care—it will be about preventing its decline in a healthcare system with fewer resources. This is our purpose at Snke—we’re scaling healthtech with data-driven innovation, driving smarter decisions for better patient outcomes.” —Stefan Vilsmeier, Founder, Snke