Ronovo Surgical raises $26M to commercialize Carina surgical robot
What's the deal? Ronovo Surgical, a Shanghai-based surgical robotics maker, has raised $26 million in a Series B extension to accelerate commercialization of its Carina robotic platform. NRL CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → led the round, with new investor Kington Capital joining existing backers including Lilly Asia VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Vivo Capital, Matrix Partners China, GGV CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and LongRiver InvestmentsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
What's the company building? Founded in 2019, Ronovo makes Carina, which it calls the first modular robotic platform for laparoscopy in China. Its founders bring more than two decades of experience from Intuitive and J&J Ethicon's Auris Health.
Why now? The raise is Ronovo's second in eight months, extending its Pre-B round from December 2025. The company says it is approaching multi-specialty human clinical trials just 2.5 years after starting conceptual design.
What's the endgame? Ronovo plans to launch Carina first in China, then expand internationally. Founder and chief executive officer Dr. John Ma said the system's "core differentiations in modularity, configurability and compatibility translate to meaningful clinical and economic values for surgeons and patients around the world."
What the investors say: NRL Capital founding partner Xianghong Lin said modular architecture will let Ronovo "accelerate the adoption of Carina by multiple surgical specialties to benefit many more patients than traditional single-pedestal robotic systems." He added that the firm is "committed to helping Ronovo globalize."
The signal: The backing of investors including GGV Capital, Vivo Capital, and Lilly Asia Ventures points to appetite for China's surgical robotics sector. Frost & Sullivan projects the country's surgical robot market will reach $3.4 billion by 2026, with the endoscopic segment alone hitting $2.1 billion at a 36.9% compound annual growth rate.
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