Petal Surgical announced today that it emerged from stealth with nearly $20 million in funding, including a $10 million Series A.
Investors included co-leaders K 50 Ventures and TSVC. Meanwhile, Draper’s, ShangBay Capital, Eliot Horowitz and Dr. Fred Moll — considered the “father of surgical robotics,” also participated.
Funds support the company’s new approach to surgery that uses acoustic liquefaction (a form of histotripsy), AI and robotics. Petal calls it incisionless surgery, hoping to create a new standard of care that eliminates cutting, pain, trauma and other typical surgical risks. The company says the body heals itself naturally with no cuts, burns or toxicity.
Histotripsy is a method that uses focused ultrasound waves to destroy tumors and other abnormal tissue. The most noteworthy company using the method right now is HistoSonics. The company develops a histotripsy platform for treating a range of tumors and other indications.
Petal’s platform works with the body’s natural abilities to heal by creating vapor-filled cavities one at a time. This allows for clear and connected treatment regions with more opportunities to break down tougher tissues.
Petal Surgical said the funding allows it to scale its technology and bring in new talent. Seasoned image-guided surgery engineer, Prash Chopra, founded the company, along with neurosurgeon Dr. Bowen Jiang, robotic-assisted spine surgery pioneer Dr. Nicholas Theodore, and Rony Abovitz, a founder of Mako Surgical. Mako, a leading orthopedic surgical robot platform, now belongs to Stryker.
“We’re excited to emerge out of stealth and begin to share more about the innovation and human-centric approach we’re bringing to the world of healthcare,” Petal wrote in a blog post. “We can clearly see a world where incisionless surgery has become the norm and standard, in all communities – modern and developing, being an accessible yet hi-tech option to patients and eliminating risks and complications that are associated with surgery.”
