Surgical robotics is not a new phenomenon, but it’s a space that continues to foster innovation across a range of applications.
Intuitive Surgical remains the standalone leader in the space, as it has been for decades, but a number of companies are reaching significant regulatory milestones, raising large sums of money and progressing quickly as they look to establish themselves within the market.
Leaders from some of the most innovative surgical robotics companies in the world, including Intuitive, Johnson & Johnson MedTech, Virtual Incision and Moon Surgical will be sharing their insights into the wide world of surgical robots at DeviceTalks West Oct. 15-16, 2025, in Santa Clara, California.
Learn more and register at West.DeviceTalks.com. (Get a 25% off registration discount with the code MD25OFF.)
As a primer for these insightful discussions, here are the top surgical robotics stories of 2025 so far.
5. Capstan Medical completes first robot-assisted transcatheter mitral valve replacements
In March, a minimally invasive robotic structural heart platform was used in clinical practice for the first time, courtesy of Capstan Medical.
The company announced the first successful transcatheter mitral valve replacements using its novel implant and surgical robotics system, with the valves implanted in two patients at Hospital Clínico Universidad Católica in Santiago, Chile, by Dr. Gonzalo Martinez, director of the Endovascular Therapy Center at Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.
Capstan Medical is targeting the world’s leading cause of death — heart disease — with a less-invasive alternative than open-heart surgery to replace diseased mitral and tricuspid heart valves. Many patients are not eligible for open-heart procedures or even catheter-based procedures.
The company is planning to file for FDA premarket approval (PMA) for the system as soon as 2028.
4. Olympus makes GI endoluminal robotics play with $458M venture
Olympus joined the endoluminal surgical robotics space in July when it announced a deal with private equity investment firm Revival Healthcare Capital to co-found Swan EndoSurgical.
The new company will focus on developing a novel endoluminal robotic system for gastrointestinal (GI) patient care. The companies will jointly invest up to $458 million in the venture. Olympus said endoluminal robotics can potentially create new, significantly enhanced minimally invasive treatment options for unmet needs. It boost precision and efficiency in procedures addressing ergonomic strain for healthcare professionals.
Developing an endoluminal robot enables easy maneuvering and flexible arm deployment within the GI tract. It provides the opportunity to deliver safe, effective surgeries while potentially avoiding invasive procedures. The robot could rival the likes of EndoQuest Robotics, which is advancing its own endoluminal system.
Olympus said Swan EndoSurgical has already assembled an experienced leadership team and will be headquartered in the U.S.
3. Siemens Healthineers, Stryker partner on neurovascular robotics
Siemens Healthineers, a giant in the imaging space, and Stryker, a leader in orthopedic devices, decided in September to come together through a strategic partnership in the field of neurovascular robotics.
This marks a new foray into surgical robotics for Siemens Healthineers, which first made its move into the space with its $1.1 billion buyout of Corindus in 2019. However, the company in 2023 announced the discontinuation of the use of its Corindus surgical robotics for cardiology procedures — even as it kept the door open for neurological procedures.
Stryker, meanwhile, develops the Rosa system for orthopedic robotic procedures. With this first-of-its-kind collaboration, the companies want to combine two industry leaders incorporating multiple facets of development. Those include robotic system design, access device and implant integration, imaging for robotic navigation and procedural workflow optimization.
The collaboration aims to develop a unique robotic system capable of performing a range of neurovascular procedures. Those include elective and emergency procedures like treatments for strokes and aneurysms.
2. Medtronic submits Hugo surgical robot to FDA, meets trial endpoints
The medtech giant in April said it submitted its Hugo soft tissue robotics platform to the FDA for a urologic indication in the first quarter of calendar 2025. It expects the submission to propel it toward its planned entrance into the U.S. surgical robotics market. This falls in line with the company’s expectation shared last fall for an early 2025 submission.
While this would mark Hugo’s entry into the U.S., it’s currently in clinical use elsewhere. Its use spans more than 25 countries across five continents.
Hugo is a modular, multi-quadrant platform designed for various surgical procedures. It features wristed instruments, 3D visualization and surgical video capture options in Touch Surgery Enterprise. Medtronic first unveiled Hugo in September 2019 as a potential competitor to long-time industry leader Intuitive Surgical.
Medtronic said on its November second-quarter earnings call that it planned to add more clinical studies earlier this year. It seeks to expand Hugo’s indications to hernia and gynecology. The company said in September that Hugo met its endpoints in a hernia repair study.
1. Ronovo Surgical raises $67M for surgical robot, inks J&J collab
In September, Shanghai-based Ronovo Surgical announced a significant funding round and collaboration in one swoop. The company picked up $67 million in its Series D round, with Johnson & Johnson’s corporate venture capital organization, JJDC, leading the financing.
With the Series D closing, Ronovo also signed a targeted collaboration agreement with J&J to advance its surgical robot commercialization efforts in China. The collaboration offers hospitals in portions of China the advantages of the Carina modular robotic surgery platform, along with complementary J&J MedTech surgical technologies.
Ronovo unveiled the Carina platform in February 2023 as a modular system built on proprietary technology to enable configurable robotic assistance for laparoscopic surgeries across multiple specialties.
Carina addresses numerous pain points in minimally invasive surgeries. The company says it provides surgeons with the flexibility to choose the best instruments and the most ideal anatomical access. The system received approval from China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) in March 2025.
Read the top:
Abbott stories of 2025 so far>>
Boston Scientific stories of 2025 so far>>
Dexcom stories of 2025 so far>>
Johnson & Johnson MedTech stories of 2025 so far>>
