Activ Surgical, a surgical intelligence software powered by machine learning, announced the close of a $15 million venture round.
Artis Ventures, a venture capital firm based in California, led the financing round, joined by LRVHealth (formerly Long River Ventures), an early-stage venture capital firm exclusively focused on digital health technologies.
The company also rolled out an artificial intelligence/machine learning platform called ActivEdge, designed to provide real-time intelligence information and visualization to surgeons.
The platform and its associated products will be initially available in the U.S. market, with plans to commercialize globally in 2021.
According to the company, the proceeds will accelerate the U.S. commercialization and European expansion efforts of ActivEdge.
Preventable medical errors are the third leading cause of death after the heart attack and cancer, with preventable surgical errors costing U.S. healthcare over $36 billion and over 400,000 deaths every year, according to data provided by the company. The company, by integrating AI decision making with human surgical capabilities, aims to reduce medical errors.
Activ’s hardware-agnostic platform enables autonomous and collaborative surgery through the integration of computer vision, artificial intelligence, and robotics, the company said in a press statement. In 2018, ActivEdge completed the first fully autonomous minimally invasive robotic surgery of soft tissue.
“We believe Activ Surgical’s platform and technology are poised to transform the surgical space by enabling existing surgical systems and robots to visualize what surgeons can’t and guide them, thus making surgeries safer, reducing errors, and improving patient outcomes,” said Ameena El-Bibany, principal, ARTIS Ventures. “They have achieved major milestones in just a few years, advancing their technology from early proof of concept to their first market-ready product to be launched with early access partners in 2021. We look forward to partnering with the company to bring impact to both surgeons and patients.”
Existing investors DNS Capital, GreatPoint Ventures (GPV), Tao Capital Partners, and Rising Tide VC, also participated in the funding round, bringing the company’s total funding to over $40 million since its founding in 2017.
Clinical Decision Support companies raised $546 million in 1H 2020. More recently, Dascena, a developer of machine learning algorithms for complex diseases, raised $50 million in Series B financing round, led by Frazier Healthcare Partners.
Image Credit: Activ Surgical
