UK-based CMR Surgical has raised over $200m in debt and equity to accelerate the commercial expansion of its surgical robotics system in the US and compete with its $180bn American rival Intuitive Surgical.
The round featured a number of CMR Surgical’s existing backers, including SoftBank, LightRock and Ally-Bridge. American asset manager Trinity Capital provided the debt funding, which comprised $68m of the total round.
The company has built a surgical robot for colorectal, gynaecology, thoracic, urology and general soft tissue operations, which it says has been used to complete more than 30k surgeries globally.
CMR Surgical is the best funded surgical robotics startup in the world, according to Dealroom. It’s raised more than $1bn since being founded in 2014 and hit a valuation of $3bn after picking up a $600m Series D in 2021. The company last raised a convertible loan note of £133m in 2023.
“This successful funding round of more than $200m is a clear vote of confidence in the company, the potential of surgical robotics, and in the UK’s life science ecosystem, which continues to produce innovative companies at an impressive rate,” said Patrick Vallance, UK science minister, in a statement released by the company.
CMR Surgical’s robot, Versius, is designed to assist surgeons in the control of instruments like endoscopes (long thin tubes, often with a camera at the end), scissors, forceps and needle holders. The robot also captures data which it then feeds back to operating staff.
The company says its surgical robot is the second most-adopted soft tissue robot in the world, behind Intuitive Surgical’s more established device. Intuitive Surgical listed in 2000 and has a market cap of $178bn today.
While CMR Surgical is the runaway leader for surgical robotic funding in Europe, a number of other startups have picked up sizeable rounds in recent years. Switzerland’s DistalMotion raised a $150m round in 2023, Italy’s Medical Microinstruments picked up $110m in 2024 and France’s Moon Surgical raised $55m in 2023.
“We are now at a pivotal stage, poised to capitalise on significant opportunities for market expansion, including in the US, while continuing to penetrate deeper into existing markets,” said Massimiliano Colella, CEO at CMR Surgical.
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