Startups within the MassRobotics healthcare catalyst cohort may have a possibility to showcase their know-how on the Robotics Summit & Expo. | Supply: MassRobotics
MassRobotics this week opened its name for candidates for Cohort 6 of its Healthcare Robotics Startup Catalyst Program. This system is a four-month, non-equity initiative that helps robotics and automation groups speed up medical readiness, technical validation, and go-to-market in healthcare and life sciences.
Applications are open now, and can shut Dec. 31, 2026. The cohort will run February by means of June 2027, concluding with firm showcases on the Robotics Summit & Expo in Boston.
This 12 months, MassRobotics welcomed Intel to this system’s steering committee, becoming a member of founding companions Festo, Novanta, and Mitsubishi Electrical U.S.
Intel mentioned its Well being and Life Sciences group brings mentorship and technical depth in edge AI and on-device compute for surgical and procedure-enabling robotics and OR automation, an space of rising curiosity throughout the cohort.
âHaving supported the MassRobotics Healthcare Catalyst Program for 3 years, Iâm happy with the journey we at Festo have taken â from founding member to seeing standout startups like Tenomix thrive,” mentioned Johannes Linzbach, the pinnacle of Analysis Hub Boston at Festo. “What I like most is discovering the individuals behind the know-how: their ambition, their concepts, and what drives them. At Festo, weâre excited to assist Cohort 6 with our expertise and connections throughout the ecosystem as they flip these concepts into options that may scale.”
Sponsors of MassRobotics’ Healthcare Robotics Startup Catalyst Program. | Supply: MassRobotics
35 startups have joined this system since its begin in 2021
The Healthcare Robotics Catalyst connects chosen startups with senior mentors from MassRobotics’ company companions, together with practising clinicians and main organizations within the medical subject. The startups work towards sensible milestones akin to proof-of-concept builds, pilot design, regulatory planning, or techniques integration and obtain organizational and technical assist.
Since 2021, the catalyst program has mentored 35 startups spanning pre-seed by means of Collection A, with groups from Boston, Toronto, and Paris to Barcelona, Sydney, and past. Alumni have gone on to finish a public itemizing, advance a number of proof-of-concept deployments, and collectively disclose greater than $180 million in funding, in keeping with MassRobotics. The group mentioned this displays this systemâs observe document guiding healthcare robotics ventures from early prototypes to market-ready platforms.
âThe MassRobotics Healthcare Catalyst Program gave us precisely what a deep-tech startup wants: direct entry to individuals who have skilled comparable issues earlier than,” mentioned Bingda Li, CEO of Whelix, which offers robots for cell tradition automation.
“The technical assist from Festo and Mitsubishi Electrical US, mixed with mentorship throughout technical growth, enterprise technique, go-to-market, and product suggestions, helped us make sharper selections quicker,” he added. “We’re grateful to the MassRobotics group and the mentors who invested their time in Whelix, and we encourage different robotics startups in healthcare and life science to use.”
MassRobotics describes the applying course of
Startups constructing robotics or automation for healthcare and biotech, together with however not restricted to laboratory and pharmaceutical automation, diagnostics and imaging workflows, hospital logistics and working room automation, rehabilitation and assistive units, surgical and interventional robotics, and enabling applied sciences akin to sensing, precision movement, edge AI/on-device compute, and cybersecurity for medical units are eligible.
This system is open to robotics startups from world wide, and each early-stage and extra mature firms, together with these at seed by means of Collection C funding, are inspired to use. Individuals will obtain:
- Tailor-made mentorship with senior specialists from Festo, Mitsubishi Electrical US, Novanta, Intel, and yaxxoo
- Medical perspective by means of the Medical Advisory Board
- Structured onboarding, aim setting, and biweekly mentor working periods
- Customized workshops based mostly on cohort wants on regulatory technique, cybersecurity and software program payments of supplies (SBOMs), medical workflow, pilot design and extra
- Visibility by means of MassRobotics channels and the Robotics Summit showcase in June
Candidates are evaluated on technical maturity, medical relevance, feasibility of near-term milestones, program match, and mentor alignment. Groups capable of pursue a proof-of-concept throughout the four-month program are particularly inspired to use.
After functions shut, MassRobotics will maintain analysis and interviews Jan. 1 to twenty, 2027. The Boston-based nonprofit will announce the Healthcare Robotics Startup Catalyst cohort on Jan. 29.
Timeline for MassRobotics’ Healthcare Robotics Startup Catalyst Program. | Supply: MassRobotics
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