Radiologist-founded augmented reality startup raises $20M from Kevin Durant, Mayo Clinic, Disney CEO
A radiologist-founded startup company has raised $20 million in series A funding from a range of investors including the Mayo Clinic, Disney CEO Bob Iger and NBA star Kevin Durant.*
New York-based Medivis says it’s on a mission to establish AR as the “new standard” in navigation during medical procedures. VC firm Thrive Capital led this initial funding round, with additional contributions from renowned neurosurgeon Robert Spetzler, MD, and Brazilian computer scientist Hugo Barra.
Its SurgicalAR platform allows interventional radiologists and surgeons to holographically render their patients' MRI and CT images, helping providers to visualize internal anatomy “like never before.” Medivis said it will use the money to scale engineering, obtain regulatory clearances and commercialize its products globally.
“Spatial computing will change every industry, but none more importantly than healthcare, where it will advance the way we perform a wide range of routine and complex interventions,” radiologist and company co-founder Christopher Morley, MD, said in a June 13 announcement. “Our partnerships speak to how far the technology has come, the growing market adoption and the paths we see ahead to profound value creation.”
Medivis boasts agreements with some of the nation’s leading health systems, including the MD Anderson Cancer Center, Providence, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Northwell Health and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. It also inked a pact with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as part of the nation’s largest hospital system’s efforts to create a 5G-enabled clinical care system.
Morley and neurosurgeon Osamah Choudhry, MD, first founded Medivis in 2016. The company scored initial funding of $2.3 million in February 2019 from San Francisco-based VC firm Initialized Capital and was granted FDA clearance for SurgicalAR in May of the same year. Its platform overlays images directly onto the patient, enabling precise, real-time decision-making both in and outside of the operating room. SurgicalAR also syncs and integrates with PACS systems, the company noted.
“From our first meeting, we've been impressed by the team's vision and ambition to revolutionize medical imaging,” Kareem Zaki, a general partner at New York-based Thrive Capital, said in Tuesday’s announcement. “We believe that Medivis has the potential to set a new standard for surgical navigation and we're excited to partner with them as they enter their next stage of growth."
*Editor’s Note: Bob Iger made his investment in Medivis prior to his Disney return in late 2022, while Kevin Durant did so as part of his company 35 Ventures.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.