Prof. Dr. Thomas Kropf — Understanding Technology. Enabling the Future.

About

Substance over noise.

"I don't believe in buzzwords. I believe in systems you can explain."

Technology creates value only when it is genuinely understood — not just deployed. That's the question I've spent 30 years working on: how technological possibility becomes reliable, scalable impact.

As EVP and Head of Corporate Research at Bosch, I led a global team of 1,600+ researchers, merged Bosch Research with the Bosch Center for AI, and tripled innovation output. I established Bosch's first autonomous driving project — a prototype cleared for German public roads by the TÜV within 18 months — and professionalized the "grow" start-up platform, bringing several ventures to commercial independence and external funding.

Today I work with leaders facing these same questions — on boards, with technology teams, at conferences, and at the University of Tübingen where I teach computer science.

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Current

Supervisory Board — Carl Zeiss AG
Professor — University of Tübingen
Peer Reviewer — IEEE Software Journal · CAIN · IEEE ITS Conference

Selected Former Board & Advisory Roles

CyberValley (Vice Chair) · DFKI (Supervisory Board) · DIN – German Institute for Standardization (Executive Board) · KIT Foundation (Board of Trustees) · HERE Global B.V. (International Advisory Board) · Bosch Research Foundation (Chair) · Robert Bosch Venture Capital (Board)

30+

Years bridging deep research and industrial reality

1,600+

Researchers led globally as EVP, Bosch Corporate Research

3×

Innovation transfers to divisions — tripled from 2018 to 2024 (90 → 279)

30k+

Bosch employees reached through the AI enablement programme within my research organisation

Point of View

The questions that shape my work.

AI beyond pilots Software quality as leadership discipline Industrial innovation systems Trustworthy technology and governance Start-ups between invention and scale Research as a strategic asset

These questions connect all my work: How does technological possibility become reliable impact? How do organisations stay capable of decisive action as systems grow more complex? And how does AI become a leadership discipline — rather than a permanent experiment?

What I Offer

Clarity for complex decisions.

I'm most useful when

An AI strategy needs to go beyond the pilot stage — and into industrial reality
Software quality becomes a board-level leadership question, not just an engineering one
A board needs to genuinely understand technological risk — not just be briefed on it
A deep-tech start-up needs industrial credibility and scaling logic alongside its ambition

Strategic Sparring

Working directly with CEOs, CTOs and boards on technology roadmaps, architectural decisions and the strategic questions at the intersection of deep tech and business. Structure where it matters most.

Startup Mentoring

Building the logic for scaling — from product architecture to decision frameworks to investor communication. For technology founders who need industrial credibility alongside their ambition.

Keynotes & Panels

Speaking on AI, systems thinking and industrial futures — drawing on 30 years of experience turning research into reality. From board-level settings to industry conferences.

Advisory & Boards

Long-term engagement with supervisory boards, venture builders and research institutions. Translating technological depth into governance clarity — for decisions that carry real weight.

"Innovation becomes expensive
when impact is only assumed."

UnderstandingTechnology.Enabling the Future.