SoftBank and Tencent have contributed to a US$165 million (£133 million) funding round for UK robotics company CMR Surgical as it announced a new milestone in the number of surgeries carried out by its newest model of robotic arm.
Japanese investment colossus SoftBank, the backer of Arm Holdings, WeWork and ByteDance, joined other existing investors as the Cambridge-based company said it increased the size of the investment round due to "strong internal demand".
Other ongoing supporters which invested included Cambridge Innovation Capital, Escala Capital, LGT, Lightrock, Railpen, Watrium and Ally Bridge Group.
CMR also revealed that the newest model of its Versius surgical robotic system has been used to perform more than 15,000 minimal access surgery (MAS) procedures across seven locations around the world, including both benign and complex procedures such as colectomies, hernia repairs, hysterectomies, sacrocolpopexies and lobectomies.
Versius is designed to be small enough to fit into any operating theatre and as it 'biomimics' the human arm the company said this gives surgeons "the choice of optimised port placement alongside the dexterity and accuracy of small fully-wristed instruments", along with 3D vision and "a choice of ergonomic working positions".
It said it plans to use the new cash to continue product innovation, develop new technology and support further commercialisation in existing and new geographies.
CMR’s vision is to make MAS "universally accessible", with the market for soft-tissue robotic-assisted MAS estimated to be worth over US$7 billion per year and growing at over 15% per annum.
The new Versius robotic tool is being used at the Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in Cambridgeshire, UK; Institute Curie in Paris; Policlinico di Milano in Italy; Max Super Specialty Hospital in Saket, India; the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation in Pakistan; Hospital Moinhos de Vento in Porto Alegre, Brazil; Gleneagles Hospital in Hong Kong and Klinikum Chemnitz in Germany.