Internet and telecommunications group SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 co-led a $600m series D round for UK-headquartered surgical robotics technology developer CMR Surgical today with healthcare investment group Ally Bridge.
GE Healthcare, a subsidiary of power and industrial technology conglomerate General Electric, also took part in the round, which valued the company at $3bn, as did internet group Tencent.
RPMI Railpen and Chimera filled out the consortium together with existing backers including LGT and its Lightrock affiliate, Watrium, Cambridge Innovation Capital (CIC) and PFM Health Sciences.
CMR is the creator of Versius, a surgical robotics system intended to make keyhole surgery possible for a significantly wider range of patients. The cash will support the commercialisation of its technology.
Yanni Pipilis, managing partner for SoftBank Investment Advisers, which manages Vision Fund, said: “Demand for minimally invasive robotic surgery is growing rapidly among surgeons and patients yet high costs have historically hindered adoption.
“CMR Surgical is transforming surgical robotics to convert underpenetrated open and laparoscopic procedures in new international markets where robotic surgeries are less prevalent such as India, the Middle East and Latin America.”
The round boosted CMR’s overall funding to approximately $986m, $46m of that coming in a 2017 series A round featuring ABB Technology Ventures, part of power and automation equipment maker ABB, as well as CIC, Watrium, Escala Capital and LGT.
The company added $100m from CIC, Watrium, LGT and Zhejiang Silk Road Fund in a series B round the following year, before all four joined Escala Capital and undisclosed US investors in a $240m series C in 2019.
Image courtesy of CMR Surgical Ltd.
