Surgical robots developer EDDA Technology has closed a $150 million funding round; proceeds will enable it to capture untapped markets of intelligent surgical robots.

Masayoshi Son’s Softbank Vision Fund 2 led this round, along with global healthcare investment firm OrbiMed and Hong Kong-based 3W Fund. The company is also supported by Morningside Ventures, Matrix Partners China, SBCVC, BOCGI, Trust Bridge, and Draper Dragon.

WHAT IT DOES

EDDA Technology, a consortium of health tech firms based in the US and China, integrates artificial intelligence and robotics with precision surgery. Its IQQA platform supports pre-surgical planning and simulation, intra-operative navigation and post-operative evaluation.

The company is also behind the IQQA Guide, a surgical navigation medical device for soft tissue organs, which is certified by both the US FDA and China’s NMPA.

WHAT IT’S FOR

In a statement last Wednesday, EDDA Technology CEO and President Dr Jianzhong Qian said the proceeds from the funding round will be used to capture the untapped market for AI-powered surgical robots, such as hospitals in second and third-tier cities in China. They also plan to utilise the company's technologies to facilitate the diagnosis and treatment of major diseases like cancer. 

EDDA Technology’s IQQA products and services are now being used in hundreds of hospitals, including the Mayo Clinic in the US, and Peking Union Medical College Hospital; West China Hospital; and Shanghai Ruijin Hospital in China.

MARKET SNAPSHOT

The value of the surgical robotics market was estimated to expand to $12.6 billion by 2025 from $5.1 billion in 2017.

It was previously forecasted that healthcare providers’ spending on robotics in the Asia-Pacific region will top $7 billion by 2022. Meanwhile, the number of global digital health fundings last Q1 2021 reached 99, with a total value of $7.1 billion.

ON THE RECORD

"Modern surgery has entered a new precision era. EDDA Technology's solution integrates intelligent medical imaging analytics with robots for precision surgery, and overcomes the problems of lack of intelligent planning and limited image guidance in traditional robot-assisted surgeries," Qian said.