Startup aiming to bring robotics into interventional radiology raises $73M

Mendaera, a startup aiming to bring robotics into interventional radiology, has raised $73 million in financing, the company announced Thursday. 

VC firm Threshold Ventures led the Series B funding round with participation from Lux Capital, PFM Health Sciences, and Fred Moll (founder of Intuitive Surgical and Auris Health). Silicon Valley-based Mendaera is working to commercialize a handheld interventional platform that incorporates robotics, artificial intelligence, imaging and virtual connectivity. 

Leaders said the product is designed to be used across different medical specialties and sites of service as the company works to improve access to needle-based interventional care. 

“Traditional surgical robots have established footing in the operating room,” Mendaera Founder and CEO Josh DeFonzo said in a Sept. 26 announcement. “But robotics and AI have evolved to a point where we can deliver broader benefits across all parts of the healthcare system and enable higher standards of care for more patients.”

DeFonzo and colleagues highlighted the increasing demand for interventional procedures amid healthcare provider shortages. They hope utilizing this emerging technology will bolster the availability of commonplace procedures such as biopsies, organ and vascular access, and pain management interventions. 

Mendaera will use the funding to complete the development of its robotic technology (yet to be FDA cleared), accelerate AI and connectivity capabilities and begin clinical introduction of the platform. The company in December inked a partnership with ultrasound-maker Butterfly Network to integrate the two technologies and closed its Series A funding round in August 2023.