What You Should Know:
– Technology leader Intuitive forms $100M inaugural fund to invest in the future leaders of minimally invasive care.
– The venture fund will invest in innovative early-stage companies across digital, medical device, therapeutic, and diagnostic domains. that will support independent initiatives in the direct and adjacent fields of minimally invasive care.
Intuitive, a Sunnyvale, CA-based technology leader in minimally invasive care and the pioneer of robotic-assisted surgery, announced the launch of Intuitive Ventures, an inaugural $100 million fund will invest in the future leaders of minimally invasive care.
Investment Thesis
Intuitive Ventures is focused on investment opportunities in digital tools, precision diagnostics, focal therapeutics and platform technologies that share Intuitive’s commitment to advancing positive outcomes in healthcare. The fund will support independent initiatives in the direct and adjacent fields of minimally invasive care and marks the entrance into the venture capital space for parent company Intuitive.
Leadership
Intuitive Ventures will be led by President, Julian Nikolchev who brings a deep entrepreneurial and operational background with more than 30 years of experience in the development and commercialization of therapeutic medical devices, including leading early-stage teams and technologies through growth and market transformation. He joined Intuitive Surgical in 2019 and will continue to serve as its Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategy.
Nikolchev is joined by Intuitive Ventures Director Dr. Oliver Keown MD, who joined Intuitive in 2019 to co-found the fund. Keown was previously an investor at GE Ventures where he drove international deal-flow and supported digital and MedTech portfolio companies operationally and at the board level. He also advised U.K., U.S. and global healthcare innovation projects across commercial, government, and academic fields.
Intuitive Ventures has already started deploying capital and is actively building its portfolio.