Swedish investment house EQT Group has anchored the $70-million Series C funding round in Hong Kong-headquartered surgical robotics firm Cornerstone Robotics, according to an announcement.
The round also saw the participation of a number of venture investors, including Qiming Venture Partners, Alpha JWC Ventures, the Innovation and Technology Venture Fund, eGarden Ventures, CTS Funds, K2VC, and Long-Z Capital.
Founded in 2019, Cornerstone Robotics focuses on accessible advanced surgical systems through in-house R&D and supply-chain integration.
The firm said it will use the fresh funds to support the commercialisation, product development, clinical trials, regulatory approvals, and global adoption of its surgical robotics solutions.
The company also disclosed plans to further expand into Europe, Southeast Asia, and other markets.
With offices in Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Beijing, and Boston in the US, the firm’s pioneering endoscopic surgical system achieved a significant milestone in September last year when it obtained the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) approval in China.
Cornerstone Robotics is a spin-off from The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
“This milestone is not only a recognition of our team’s efforts in translating surgical robotics innovations into practical applications but also a testament to our commitment to long-term, high-quality development,” said Samuel Au, founder and CEO of Cornerstone Robotics
EQT, the lead investor in the funding round, said there is an urgent need to make high-quality robot-assisted surgical care accessible to patients, yet few companies are delivering the safety, precision, and rigour required for these critical procedures.
EQT Group earlier set a hard cap of $14.5 billion for its ninth Asia buyout fund, BPEA Private Equity Fund IX (BPEA IX).
The actual fund size is dependent on the outcome of the fundraising process, EQT said. It had earlier set the target fund size at $12.5 billion. The predecessor fund, BPEA VIII, had raised over $11 billion in 2022.
Some of EQT’s Southeast Asia portfolio, including from the BPEA business, are Indonesian natural ingredients provider Indesso; Singapore-based healthcare platform MHC Asia and video game development firm Virtuos; and integrated retail platform The CrownX, and education companies VUS and ILA in Vietnam.
In August, EQT said it agreed to acquire Southeast Asian property technology platform PropertyGuru in a take-private transaction which values the latter at $1.1 billion.
