This is one of the biggest exits involving a Lebanese entrepreneur. London-based e-health start-up Digital Surgery has just been bought by Medronic, one of the world leaders in medical technology. The terms and amount of the deal have not been made public, but we will publish them once released.
Launched by British-Lebanese Dr. Jean Nehme and his partner Dr. Andre Chow, the start-up puts technology at the service of surgery.
In 2013, the two surgeons, freshly graduated from Imperial College London, faced a major problem for young practitioners: the impossibility of practicing before the operation.
They developed Touch Surgery, a surgical simulation application allowing doctors to train virtually before operation day.
The start-up then raised 10 million dollars from venture capital funds Balderton, Redline and Episode 1 and various business angels, including Hala Fadel.
Hala Fadel, the co-founder of the Beirut and Dubai-based venture capital fund Leap Ventures, immediately believed in the project. "The health sector is very promising, especially for the Lebanese: health is an area in which they have an excellent reputation," she explains.
"We would have liked to invest through Leap Ventures as part of circular 331, but this does not allow funds to be allocated to companies established outside Lebanon," she added.
The Touch Surgery platform is currently used by healthcare professionals in different countries, as well as for specialized training programs.
But the start-up is not limited to this first success. In 2016, it developed artificial intelligence software that helps the medical team in operating rooms to make surgery safer. This project allows Digital Surgery to raise new funds in 2018 from the American company 8VC. In total, the company has raised over 40 million dollars to date.
With a turnover of tens of millions of dollars in 2019, Digital Surgery arouses the lusts of several investors and potential buyers, including the pharmaceutical group Johnson & Johnson, the Japanese SoftBank Group or Intuitive Surgical, a production company of medical robots.
It was ultimately Medtronic that won the bet, the company wishing to develop its expertise in robotic surgery and artificial intelligence. The startup can take advantage of the multinational's vast network of partner hospitals to sell its software.
According to the press release, the headquarters of Digital Surgery will be maintained in London and the two co-founders should keep their current managerial positions.
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