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Walter De Brouwer

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Walter De Brouwer
Born (1957-05-09) May 9, 1957 (age 68)
Aalst, Belgium
Alma materGhent University (BA Philology; MA Formal Linguistics; postgraduate Epistemology; Tilburg University (PhD Semiotics)
OccupationBusinessman
Known forPersonal Computer Magazine Eunet, Starlab, OLPC, Scanadu Inc, doc.ai Inc
SpouseSam Lounis - De Brouwer

Walter De Brouwer (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈʋɑltər də ˈbrʌuər]; born May 9, 1957) is a Belgian-born businessman and semiotician.[1] He is the former CEO of doc.ai[2] and of Scanadu.[3] As a businessman, as of 2013, he took part in the creation of over 35 companies, including two that became publicly traded through Initial Public Offering.[4]

Early life and education

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De Brouwer, born in Aalst, Belgium, is now an American citizen.[citation needed] He earned a Master's degree in linguistics from the University of Ghent and a PhD in Semiotics from Tilburg University.[5] He was a fellow of the Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning at Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge from 2004 until 2010.[6]

Teaching and board memberships

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De Brouwer was a lecturer at the University of Antwerp (UFSIA) and the University of Monaco.[4] He is an adjunct professor at Stanford University Medical school (the Clinical Excellence Research Center).[7]

Career

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Publisher

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De Brouwer was the publisher of a Belgian cyberpunk magazine called Wave.[8]

Internet

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In 1996, De Brouwer was one of the founders of EUnet.[9] Eunet was sold to Qwest Communications in 1999.[10][11] He founded the employment website Jobscape.[9][2] In 2008, De Brouwer set up OLPC Europe, the European branch of One Laptop per Child.[12][13]

Starlab

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In 1996, De Brouwer founded Starlab together with MIT Media Lab founder Nicholas Negroponte.[14][15][16] Under De Brouwer’s direction, by April 2001 it had hired 70 scientists from 33 different countries.[16] Starlab went bankrupt in June 2001.[17]

Scanadu

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De Brouwer is co-founder and former CEO of Scanadu, a company located at the NASA Ames Research Park in California.[3] and Scanaflo, an at-home, full-panel urinalysis testing device designed to give consumers immediate information about their liver health, urinary tract infections, and other vitals.[18] Scanadu was taken over by healthy.io (in 2020)[19]

Doc.ai

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De Brouwer stepped down from CEO of Scanadu in April 2016 and became a co-founder (along with his wife, Sam de Brouwer) and the original CEO of doc.ai., a Palo Alto, CA-based artificial intelligence company with a focus on digital healthcare,[2] including an app to help patients manage and analyze health data.[20] In 2020, he stepped down as CEO and was replaced by Sam De Brouwer (née Lounis); he stayed on with the company as chief scientific officer.[2] Doc.ai was acquired in January 2021 by the Atlanta-based digital health company Sharecare, who brought Walter De Brouwer onto their board as chief science officer as part of the merger.[21] Doc.ai was featured in Forbes when the company received a $100m contract from Anthem, the second-largest insurer in USA.[2]

Snowcrash

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In March 2022, de Brouwer co-founded Snowcrash, with backing from Sony Music and Universal Music Group, a platform for trading NFTs from musicians, with initial offerings from Bob Dylan and Miles Davis. De Brouwer’s co-founders at Snowcrash are Jesse Dylan, a son of Bob Dylan, and Jeff Rosen.[22]

SoundPatrol

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De Brouwer and former Disney president Michael Ovitz founded a company called SoundPatrol that uses AI to analyze and catalog distinctive musical elements to help identify copyright infringement; the company partnered with Universal Music Group and Sony Music in 2025 to help detect copyright violations in AI-generated music.[23]

Other activities

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De Brouwer is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and served as President of RSA Europe from 2006 to 2008.[24] He is a member of TED.[citation needed] He was a distinguished lecturer at the National Science Foundation in 2013.[citation needed]

De Brouwer's articles have been published by VentureBeat,[25] The Huffington Post.[26]

Bibliography

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  • De Brouwer, Walter. Notes & Queries: Mary Imlay, Analytical Review (Oxford, 1982), 29:204-206.
  • De Brouwer, Walter. Notes & Queries: Joshua Toulmin, Analytical Review (Oxford, 1983), 30:209-212.
  • De Brouwer, Walter; Ayris, Stephen (1985). Computer Buzz words : Teacher's guide. Wolters Leuven, ISBN 90-309-0815-7
  • De Brouwer, Walter (1985). Cybercrud : computer terminology for advanced students of informatics and industrial engineering. Wolters Leuven, ISBN 90-309-0819-X
  • Vanneste, Alex; Geens D, De Brouwer, Walter (1987). Het Nieuwe Landschap, Wolters Leuven, ISBN 90-309-0825-4
  • De Brouwer, Walter (2004). Echelon: Three can keep a Secret, if Two of them are Dead. Delaware, ASIN B004J3UHGG
  • De Brouwer, Walter (2004). The biology of language: the post-modern deconstruction and denarration of modern and pre-modern grand narratives. Universiteit van Tilburg, ISBN 978-90-810022-1-9
  • De Brouwer, W., Patel, C.J., Manrai, A.K. et al. Empowering clinical research in a decentralized world. npj Digital Medicine 4, 102 (2021). Empowering clinical research in a decentralized world

Publications

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  1. ^ "Walter De Brouwer (Scanadu): gezondheidszorg van de toekomst" [Walter De Brouwer (Scandinavia): healthcare of the future]. tijd.be. 23 February 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e Jennings, Katie (29 September 2020). "Startup Doc.ai Inks Deal With Health Insurer Anthem, Names Female Cofounder CEO". Forbes. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  3. ^ a b Gorman, Michael (22 May 2013). "Scanadu finalizes Scout tricorder design, wants user feedback to help it get FDA approval". Engadget. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  4. ^ a b Pagano, Margareta (26 August 2013). "Walter de Brouwer: Check your emails – and your heart – with this 'emergency room in your hand'". The Independent. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  5. ^ De Brouwer, Walter (2004). The biology of language: the post-modern deconstruction and denarration of modern and pre-modern grand narratives. Universiteit van Tilburg, ISBN 978-90-810022-1-9
  6. ^ He was until he left in 2011 for the USA, an entrepreneur in Residence Walter De Brouwer [dead link] via the Judge Business School; nowadays called the University of Cambridge Business School,
  7. ^ "Walter De Brouwer's Profile | Stanford Profiles". profiles.stanford.edu.
  8. ^ Sunenblick, Jesse (17 February 2013). "X Prize: making the Tricorder a reality". WIRED. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
  9. ^ a b SCHROLLER, ALEX; KING, TIM (31 March 2010). "Smart ways to improve innovation: Industry and the Commission signaled their intent to improve Europe's record on innovation at a European Voice event". Politico. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  10. ^ Dishman, Lydia (16 November 2012). "Want A Personal Doctor On Call 24/7? Scanadu Will Turn Your Smartphone Into A Diagnostic Clinic". Fast Company. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  11. ^ "Form S-3/A Qwest Communications International Inc S-3/A [Amend] - Registration statement under Securities Act of 1933: Registration No. 333-58617. September 30, 1998". Sec.report. Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  12. ^ Fildes, Jonathan (December 23, 2009). OLPC Unveils slimline tablet PC. BBC News
  13. ^ Hartley, Adam (May 1, 2010). How OLPC plans to give 30 million kids in Africa a laptop by 2015. TechRadar
  14. ^ Kalia, Kirin (August 9, 2000). Belgium: Europe's Overlooked Diamond-in-the-Rough (Part II). Silicon Alley Daily
  15. ^ Lane, Frederick S. (2003) The naked employee: how technology is compromising workplace privacy, p. 54. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn, ISBN 978-0-8144-7149-4
  16. ^ a b Bilefsky, Dan (April 2, 2001). Where the deep future is familiar territory The Financial Times
  17. ^ Giles, Jim (5 July 2001). "Utopian dream in tatters as Starlab crashes to Earth". Nature.
  18. ^ Hein, Buster (6 January 2015). "Scanaflo brings hospital-quality urinalysis to your home". Cult of Mac. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  19. ^ Farr, Christina (June 26, 2020). "Healthy.io, Israeli maker of smartphone urinalysis tech, buys its largest U.S. rival". CNBC.
  20. ^ Freedman, David H. (20 March 2019). "Personalized Health Care and Artificial Intelligence Could Improve Your Life—at the Cost of Your Privacy". Newsweek. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  21. ^ Schilling, Erin (1 February 2021). "Breakdown of top Atlanta tech deals and acquisitions from January 2021". Atlanta Business Journal. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  22. ^ Paine, Andre (2 March 2022). "Sony and UMG team on Snowcrash NFT platform with collectibles set for Bob Dylan & Miles Davis". Music Week. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  23. ^ Sorkin, Andrew Ross (25 September 2025). "Apple, Intel and a Potential Trump Factor". New York Times. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  24. ^ "Chairman of RSA Europe Fellowship". [dead link]
  25. ^ De Brouwer, Walter (3 February 2019). "Millennials may be the last generation to know so little about their health". VentureBeat.
  26. ^ De Brouwer, Walter (9 March 2014). "I. Am. The Greatest". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
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