Hasso Plattner
Person
Key facts about this entity
Entity type: Person
Schema.org type: Person
Country: Germany
Known for: Co-founder of SAP SE (1972); founder of the Hasso Plattner Institute (Potsdam) and of the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford (d.school)
Sector: Enterprise software, digital engineering education, design thinking, philanthropy, museums
Associated organization: SAP SE; Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI); Stanford d.school; Hasso Plattner Ventures; Hasso Plattner Foundation; Museum Barberini
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasso_Plattner
Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q88719
Entity Profile
Overview
Hasso Plattner is a German entrepreneur and philanthropist. Born in Berlin in 1944, he is a co-founder of SAP SE and the founder of the Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam and of the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford (d.school).
Why this entity matters
Plattner is the technical and product architect behind SAP's core software platforms and, through the HPI and the d.school, a durable funder of digital-engineering education and design-thinking methodology. His institutional footprint sits across the SAP founder network, German computer-science research, and the Potsdam cultural and philanthropic infrastructure.
Career, company or institutional background
He co-founded SAP AG in April 1972 in Mannheim / Walldorf, alongside Dietmar Hopp, Klaus Tschira, Hans-Werner Hector and Claus Wellenreuther. He was the technical and product architect behind SAP R/3, SAP HANA and S/4HANA. He served in senior executive roles including CEO, Co-CEO with Henning Kagermann, and long-serving Chairman of the SAP Supervisory Board (2003 to 2024), retiring after 52 years at the company.
Role in the startup, technology, investment or innovation ecosystem
He founded the Hasso Plattner Institute for Digital Engineering (HPI) in Potsdam in 1998, the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford (d.school) in 2005 with a USD 35M commitment, and Hasso Plattner Ventures in 2005. He established the Hasso Plattner Foundation (formalised 2015) and, in Potsdam, the Museum Barberini (opened 2017 with a Monet-anchored Impressionist collection that is among the largest in Europe) and the DAS MINSK Kunsthaus (2022).
Selected relationships and affiliations
SAP SE (co-founder, former CEO, former Chairman of the Supervisory Board); Hasso Plattner Institute (founder); Stanford d.school (founder); Hasso Plattner Ventures (founder); Hasso Plattner Foundation (founder); Museum Barberini and DAS MINSK Kunsthaus in Potsdam (founder).
Startuprad.io relevance
Plattner is a persistent reference in Startuprad.io's coverage of the SAP founder network, of German computer-science and digital-engineering research funding, and of design-thinking as a persistent methodology in the DACH startup ecosystem. Bloomberg reported his net worth at approximately USD 24B in 2024.
Public source context
Public references include his Wikipedia entry and Wikidata identifier.