ForSight Robotics raises $10 million in Seed Round

ForSight Robotics is $10 million richer, thanks to a seed round led by Eclipse Ventures and Mithril Capital.

“We are thrilled to bring robotics into the world of ophthalmic surgery,” said ForSight Robotics Co-founder and CEO Daniel Glozman, Ph.D. “Our goal is to democratize this highly sophisticated procedure, enabling patients around the world to easily access the treatment that can restore their vision.”

ForSight’s mission is to re-imagine ophthalmic surgery by applying the most advanced technologies in microsurgical robotics, computer visualization and machine learning. The platform will automate the complex subtleties of ophthalmic surgery with an intuitive, patient-centric system that tackles the profound and growing problems of preventable blindness and visual impairment.

Many of the leading causes of blindness worldwide can be prevented with timely surgical procedures. However, ophthalmic microsurgery is intricate and challenging, requiring many years to master. Also, trained ophthalmic surgeons are in extremely short supply worldwide. According to a study published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology, affluent nations averaged just 72 eye surgeons per million people, while low-income countries averaged an alarming 3.7 ophthalmologists per million.

ForSight’s team combines the expertise of world-renowned ophthalmic surgeons with those of today’s top medical roboticists, an accomplished group of technologists whose work animates the majority of surgical robots deployed at scale. With the right technology and team in place ForSight Robotics believes that the talents of today’s top eye surgeons can be scaled and shared with the world.

Technologically, ForSight’s robotics will provide unprecedented dexterity and maneuverability with six degrees of freedom, and the capability of executing intricate tasks with microsurgical instruments. Combining the latest advancements in robotics, machine learning and microsurgery, the ForSight system will incorporate state-of-the-art stereoscopic imaging technologies for surgical planning, real-time image guidance, and unparalleled visualization. The platform will ensure the continuous improvement of surgical technique and exceed human surgical capabilities with more precise movements of only a few microns.

Glozman has specialized in robotics for medical applications for more than 20 years, heading R&D at Medtronic Ventor Technologies, Magenta Medical, Diagnostic Robotics, and Guide-X—which he also founded.

ForSight Co-founder Moshe Shoham, Ph.D., is an acclaimed emeritus professor of mechanical engineering at the Technion and former head of its robotics laboratory. Besides his many academic honors, Prof. Shoham founded Mazor Robotics, the leading spinal robotics platform since acquired by Medtronic plc. He is an international member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering.

Joseph Nathan, M.D., ForSight Robotics co-founder and chief business officer, previously directed healthcare commercialization at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology, where he forged partnerships worth over $1 billion with global pharmaceutical and med-tech companies. Nathan also served as director of New Ventures for the Alfred Mann Institute at the Technion, a $100 million joint venture incubating medical startups.

ForSight is supported by a distinguished group of accomplished peers in the field. Members of ForSight’s strategic advisory board are: Dr. Fred Moll, co-founder of Intuitive Surgical Inc. and Auris Health Inc., Rony Abovitz, co-founder of Mako Surgical Inc. and Magic Leap Inc., and Ajay Royan, co-founder of Mithril.

In addition, ForSight will be guided by a clinical advisory board comprising six world-renowned ophthalmic surgeons. They are Drs. David Chang, Elizabeth Yeu, Vance Thompson, Boris Malyugin, Sam Garg and Modi Naftali.

Dr. Nathan adds that the system ForSight is building wasn’t technologically possible five years ago. “These are exciting times that will enable the transformation of ophthalmic surgery from art to science,” he said. “Our goal is to collaborate with physicians, industry and patients to bring the best possible robotic platform in order to benefit as many vision-impaired patients as possible.”

“Our partnership with ForSight is a continuation of our effort to invest in the most advanced robotics companies and support world-class talent with the necessary experience to build real-world solutions for highly valuable applications and industries,” said Seth Winterroth, Partner at Eclipse Ventures. “This company meets all those criteria and one more: Its success will help millions of people around the world see and live better.”

“As populations grow and age, robotically assisted surgery is an essential tool to simultaneously advance technique and broaden access to top-tier medical expertise,” said Ajay Royan, co-founder of Mithril Capital, “ForSight’s mission will benefit hundreds of millions around the world.”

ForSight was awarded a grant from the Israel Innovation Authority’s Companies Incentive Program and has built a top-notch executive team to lead mechanical engineering, computer vision, product design and software development. The company is expanding its technical team and is actively seeking highly skilled, impact-driven engineers across the mechanical, software and hardware fields. MPO Mag