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Daniel Keller

Daniel Keller

CPTO · Builder · Pilot

25+ years building technology products. Four exits. Now obsessed with GenAI-native development, longevity optimization, and flying a Cirrus SR22T across Europe.


The Journey

From an Amstrad CPC to four exits

It started with an Amstrad CPC 6128 (branded as Schneider in Germany) — 128 KB of RAM, a 128 KB floppy disk, and game code copied from magazines. I wrote my first neural network in university in 1994, back when "AI" was an academic curiosity, not a product category. Computer Science degree from Regensburg, MBA from the University of Augsburg and Katz Business School in Pittsburgh.

The career that followed was a series of bets on technology-driven transformation: AutoScout24, Ciao!, Zanox/AWIN, Axel Springer, SolarisBank, Visable, Onfido (acquired by Entrust in 2023), and now IDnow. Always in CTO, CPO, or CIO roles — always building. Four of those companies were acquired — with a combined exit value north of $1.6 billion.

Before the tech career took over, I was a competitive rower on the Bavarian team as a teenager. The discipline stuck: show up early, train hard, execute precisely. It turns out that mindset works equally well for building products as it does for pulling an oar at 5 AM.

Present Day

What I'm focused on

GenAI Product Development

Building with Claude Code, Cursor, and local LLMs (Qwen3-Coder on MLX). Pioneering what I call the "Overnight Agent Factory" — parallel agentic workflows that ship features while I sleep. Deep into MCP protocol and three-tier AI architecture patterns.

Longevity Optimization

A structured six-pillar framework: sleep, exercise, eat, mental health, boost, and avoid. Not biohacking theater — data-driven protocols refined over years. Currently building NutriSpan to quantify the longevity impact of everything I eat and do.

Flying

EASA and FAA PPL, Instrument Rating, 10+ years in the air. Based at Schönhagen (EDAZ) near Berlin, flying a Cirrus SR22T across Europe — Alps, Mediterranean, the UK. If I go more than two weeks without being airborne, I get restless.

Side Projects

Things I'm building

I'm a maker at heart. These projects are all built with GenAI-native workflows — Claude Code sessions, parallel agents, and the occasional 3 AM commit from an overnight factory run.

General Aviation

Life at flight level

I caught the flying bug at the start of this century and haven't looked back. What started as a PPL has grown into dual EASA and FAA licenses, an Instrument Rating, and a Cirrus SR22T based at Schönhagen (EDAZ) south of Berlin.

I fly across Europe regularly — threading through Alpine valleys, crossing the Mediterranean, landing at airstrips in the UK. Every flight is captured on GoPro. It's the one activity where my mind goes completely quiet and every decision matters.

Explore flying section
EU

EASA PPL(A)

Instrument Rating

US

FAA PPL

Instrument Rating

SR

Cirrus SR22T

Based at EDAZ

Personal

Beyond the screen

Proud father of three adult kids — Dominik, Annina, and Maximilian — all of whom became software engineers. (I didn't push them. They watched me build things and decided it looked like fun.) Married to my wonderful wife Michi for over 25 years. Based near Berlin, living somewhere between the forest and the runway.

When I'm not coding or flying, I'm tinkering — 3D printing on a Bambu Lab P1S, wiring ESP32 sensors into Home Assistant, programming KNX scenes, or playing guitar badly enough that nobody asks me to stop. I have a persistent curiosity about how things work, which is occasionally inconvenient for household appliances.

Connect

Get in touch

I'm always happy to talk about product leadership, GenAI development, aviation, or longevity. Find me on any of these platforms.