Paris-based Ganymed Robotics, a developer of computer vision software and robotics technologies for orthopaedic surgeons, announced on Thursday that it has raised €21M in the first close of its oversubscribed Series B round of funding.
The round was led by Cathay Health, with participation from Credit Mutuel Innovation, Kurma Partners, BNP Paribas Developpement, and internationally renowned surgeons.
Developing robotic assistance technologies for orthopaedics
Founded in 2018 by Sophie Cahen, Ganymed Robotics claims that it is working in close collaboration with leading international surgeons to develop a new approach to surgical robotics.
The company’s mission is to empower surgeons and care centres to make orthopaedic surgery safer, more reliable, accessible, surgeon-centric, and more efficient for all. It believes that advanced technology holds part of the solution.
“We are designing the next generation of surgical assistants and smart tools, enabling the use of computer vision, robotics and AI in the operating room to plan, execute, monitor and continuously improve patient-specific procedures,” says the company.
Ganymed Robotics’ first application is a co-manipulated surgical robotic assistant for total knee arthroplasty (TKA). According to the company, this device is the first compact and intuitive robot that is fully integrated into the workflow, and one that simplifies and increases the accuracy of orthopaedics.
TKA is expected to rise in OECD countries from 2.4 million procedures currently to 5.7 million in 2030. Today, 95 per cent of orthopaedic surgeries are performed without technological assistance, leading to suboptimal outcomes. This results in patient dissatisfaction rate, which is above 20 per cent.
Ganymed Robotics has also developed a robot-with-eyes platform that enhances surgeons’ ability to see beyond the naked eye and execute the “perfect” gesture. The company’s custom-designed co-manipulated arm embarks a wide range of multimodal sensors to perceive and interpret the surgical scene in an actionable manner.
Co-founder Sophie Cahen says, “With our unique robot-with-eyes platform, we are committed to providing all surgeons and care centres, large and small, with an easy-to-use and cost-effective solution that will radically improve patient outcome, surgeon experience and overall efficiency of joint replacement interventions.”
Additionally, Ganymed Robotics intends to progressively deploy its technology to address several other orthopaedics indications.
Capital utilisation
Ganymed Robotics says it will use the funds to support its expansion plans in France and in the US, complete the commercialisation of its surgical robotic helper for knee arthroplasty (TKA), accelerate regulatory and marketing developments across geographies, and diversify the innovation product pipeline.
The company, since its inception in 2018, has witnessed rapid growth. It has validated its proprietary algorithms, gathered “unique” in vivo data through a 100-patient observational study, finished functional prototype tests, started the industrialisation of its first device specifically for TKA through strategic partnerships with manufacturers, and secured a strong patent portfolio in collaboration with top clinicians.
About the investors
Cathay Health, affiliated to Cathay Capital, is a global fund investing in the convergence of healthcare, life sciences and technology. A multi-stage €500M fund, it backs venture and growth-stage companies across Europe, North America and Asia whose tech-enabled solutions catalyse groundbreaking advances in medicine.
Credit Mutuel Innovation is the VC subsidiary of Credit Mutuel Equity with €3.5B of capital under management, part of Credit Mutuel Alliance Federale. It invests tickets between €1M and €20M in companies in the digital, life sciences and deeptech sectors.
Kurma Partners is an European VC group specialising in healthcare with €700M under management. It has three franchises: Kurma Diagnostics, focused on diagnostic and digital health; Kurma Biofund, focused on therapeutic (current active fund KBIII); and more recently, Kurma Growth Opportunities, covering both sectors at a later stage of investments. Kurma Partners is part of the Eurazeo group.
BNP Paribas Developpement is an independent subsidiary of BNP Paribas. Its mission is to assist management teams in carrying out strategic medium-term projects. As a minority shareholder, the firm provides its partners with appropriate governance without interference in day-to-day management. They also benefit from the strength of a leading banking group and the experience of a partner with more than 400 diversified investments, including 70 startups.
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