The Potential of AI in Healthcare: Insights from Dietmar Schlösser of TÜV Nord Group
The intersection of artificial intelligence and healthcare is unlocking unprecedented opportunities – from diagnostic breakthroughs to personalized treatments. However, alongside its transformative potential, AI in healthcare also brings complex regulatory and ethical considerations.
To support these developments, at Tech Tour AI for Health 2025, industry leaders, investors, and startups came together to explore how AI can revolutionize patient care, prevention, and drug discovery. In relation to the program, we recently had the opportunity to sit down for a conversation with Dietmar Schlösser, Director of Digitalization & Innovation at TÜV Nord Group.
TT: We’ve had the pleasure of hosting you and TÜV Nord Group at the inaugural Tech Tour AI for Health 2025 – how do you envision the value this event creates? Why have you chosen to support the event?
DS: Healthcare is one of the most exciting and beneficial areas for the application of AI – and healthcare is of everyone’s concern, naturally. The opportunities that I can see with AI are really fantastic. What I often hear from medical experts is the prospect of a diagnostic revolution, which would have an immense impact on humanity. Just imagine that you would have a highly accurate diagnosis all the time – that would be fantastic. At the same time, healthcare is one of the most delicate areas in terms of responsible use of data, and that’s exactly where we as TÜV Nord come in. We can help to apply AI in the field of healthcare in a responsible way, and I’m really excited about that because, like I said, it is of everyone’s interest. At the Tech Tour event the important players come together. Startups play a very important role – but startups alone cannot really be as effective and really reach their full potential, because this requires an innovation ecosystem. So different players can help startups actually do the right thing in the most effective way. So in that sense, I think this event is really excellent, as it brings the key players in that field, the startups namely together with partners, investors that can really help leverage this great potential.
TT: Can you tell us about your journey in digitalization and innovation? What inspired your transition from roles like CIO at Deloitte Germany to your current position at TÜV Nord, supporting startups in building scalable business models?
DS: To me, technology has always been a means to an end. So you could say, however fascinating the technology, you should occasionally look at the adoption, and I think in the end it’s all about adoption. Technology itself is neither good nor bad – it’s what we use it for and how, that makes all the difference. And then we’re talking about human beings. So I think really to make sure that you use it in a meaningful way, you really need to drive the necessary change if you want to create a real impact. So that has always fascinated me.
I’ve always been interested in the question – how can I maximize my impact? And after 10 years in a CIO role, I felt I should probably put my entire focus on change, which in the end is the essence of digitalization innovation.
TT: Share with us a little bit more about what you guys do at TÜV Nord and how you support startups?
DS: TÜV Nord is not really a financial investor. In general, what we do is we want to work with startups. We’ve set up a venture clienting program – so instead of becoming an investor, we become a customer of startups, because startups require both in the end. And we want to really tap into the innovative potential that startups have. They work in a completely different way and have a completely different operating system, which makes it sometimes difficult for corporates and for startups to work together. So what we’ve built is an organizational API to make sure that our business units can really work with startups directly. This is what my team does. And we would really like to to increase the degree to which we collaborate with startups in the future. And we can share a lot of experience – we have a lot of customer problems and I think that startups really need expertise on that. So while the startup might be very strong in a technology like AI, we can also provide the subject matter background that will help.
TT: From your perspective, what are the most transformative applications of AI in healthcare today? Which trends or advancements do you believe hold the most promise for the near future?
DS: I will answer this question from a personal standpoint, given that I’m not a medical expert- so the medical experts might forgive me if I forget something. I already mentioned the diagnostic revolution that we see with AI in healthcare. But the second transformative application that I see is personalized medicine. So a treatment that is really tailored to me as an individual with my DNA, with my health history and with whatever factors play a role. And to me a combination of a highly accurate diagnosis and a corresponding individual treatment without side effects, I hope, feels like an eternal dream of humanity come true in the end.
TT: Do you feel this is viable in the near future?
DS: The question is always what is near – and I think in general we tend to overestimate the near-future impact something will have, and we might be trapped in the same situation with AI in healthcare. So it will probably take more than a few years. But at the same time, we tend to underestimate the long-term impact. I’m quite confident that I will still live to see this dream come true, but it will probably take more than five to 10 years for this to really become, let’s say, visible to everybody.
TT: Based on your experience working with startups, what qualities do you think are essential for emerging companies to succeed in the AI healthcare sector?
DS: I think the most relevant characteristic of a startup in this sense is risk-taking or courage. To do things that no one else would probably do because you always have an ROI calculation. So it’s people that are passionate about an idea who fully believe in their idea and they want to create the future. That’s what I often observe with founders, and I’m really fascinated by that. And I think it’s this combination that makes startups so valuable. That is really necessary and essential for all the challenges that we have to solve as humanity. And I strongly believe it will only be entrepreneurial spirit that will get us there. It is not technocratic approach will save us. It’s the belief in human creativity and invention that will get us there, things that we can’t imagine right now that will become available – and if you take a look at the history of mankind, it has always been like that.
TT: How can startups balance the need for groundbreaking innovation with the practical challenges of navigating regulatory landscapes, especially in healthcare?
DS: I think it requires partnership. Well, first of all.. a general piece of advice: don’t be too fascinated with your technology. In the end, it’s just technology. I think what always pays out sooner or later is to put the focus on human beings. How will people perceive this? What do we need to make sure that they accept this? That is actually what regulation is all about. And it’s about partnering up with organizations like TÜV Nord.
I think we have to find also more agile approaches to applying regulation and we’re working on that. We’re not there yet – that’s for sure. But we’re slowly getting there and I think only partnership can really get us there, because it’s in the public’s interest that we make these great technological possibilities available to people.
TT: What is your advice for the startups with AI-driven healthcare solutions at Tech Tour AI for Health? What is your perspective on the keys to success in this space?
DS: Focus on human beings, not just technology, which actually means that you have to try – and I know it’s very difficult, as I struggle with that myself – to put yourself into other people’s shoes, try to take a different perspective. Really try to understand the perspective of the people that you’re approaching. I think that’s the most important thing. In the end, you might have the greatest technology on Earth as a startup – but if nobody understands what it’s good for, it doesn’t help.
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Check out our inaugural AI for Health event and stay tuned for our upcoming event series to connect with more forward-thinking leaders like Dietmar Schlosser.
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