Robot assisted surgery company raises $96m in funding round

Memic Innovative Surgery (Memic), a medical device company focussing on robot-assisted surgery, has closed a $96 million Series D financing round.

The funding round was led by Peregrine Ventures and Ceros with participation from Ourcrowd and Accelmed. Funding will support commercialisation of the Hominis robotic-assisted surgical platform in the U.S. and potentially in other countries as the company also plans to expand marketing and sales efforts outside the U.S. The financing will also support continued research and development efforts including expanding the company’s portfolio of products and manufacturing scaleup, as well as provide world-class customer support and training.

Dvir Cohen, co-founder and CEO of Memic, said: “The Hominis system represents a significant advancement in the growing multi-billion-dollar robotic surgery market. This financing positions us to accelerate our commercialisation efforts and bring Hominis to both surgeons and patients in the months ahead.”

The Hominis system received De Novo marketing authorisation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in February 2021 for use in single site, natural orifice laparoscopic-assisted transvaginal benign surgical procedures including benign hysterectomy. It features miniature humanoid-shaped robotic arms that provide human level dexterity, multi-planar flexibility and 360 degrees of articulation. The biomimetic instruments are designed to replicate the motions and capabilities of a surgeon’s arms, with shoulder, elbow and wrist joints. Multiple instruments can be introduced to the body through a single portal and the 360-degree articulation offers obstacle avoidance as well as optimal access and working angles. 

In addition to these features, the system will be sold at a significantly lower price compared to other marketed robotic surgery systems, potentially allowing more medical facilities including hospitals and ambulatory surgical centres to access and adopt surgical robotics.

Eyal Lifschitz, managing general partner of Peregrine Ventures, said: “Given the broad potential of Hominis combined with a strong management team, we are proud to support Memic and execution of its bold vision.”