Startup closes $3M seed round to fund surgical AI platform
Months-old health technology startup Theator closed a $3 million seed round April 18, providing the company with the cash flow it needs to power its AI-enabled surgical performance platform.
Co-founder and CEO of Theator, Tamir Wolf, MD, PhD, said in a release his company just launched its first product, a tool called Minutes, at the annual meeting of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons. Minutes provides surgeons with edited versions of complex procedures, covering surgical steps and outcome-critical components in a minutes-long presentation that helps physicians prep for the operating room.
Wolf said Minutes can condense hours of video of a surgery—something other AI companies haven’t focused on. While most innovators are working with static images, like X-rays and CT scans, Theator is leveraging video to enhance surgeons’ capabilities and reduce medical errors.
“Lack of access to objective and widespread surgery is a major cause of often life-threatening errors,” Wolf said in the release. “Today, much of the lack of access to quality care stems from surgery being mostly subjective, still taught and performed as an apprenticeship. Quality of care and outcomes vary greatly depending on the surgeon’s ‘intuition,’ gained from one’s particular experience, which is somewhat limited and varies. Theator leverages machine learning and computer vision to analyze surgeries and compile a usable database that can help dramatically reduce biases in surgical procedures.”
Minutes includes AI-powered algorithmic analytics that can inform surgeons on their performance in the OR, Wolf said, suggesting ways to improve patient care in post-op debriefings.
Theator’s seed funding round was led by StageOne, iAngels and KdTVC.
“We are strong believers that computer vision and machine learning will change surgery forever,” Yoav Samet, managing partner of StageOne and an incoming board member for Theator, said in the release. “Identifying best practices to make surgeons better is just the beginning. Eventually, AI-driven insights will enable autonomous robotic platforms—Theator is creating the roadmap that will ultimately aid such platforms navigate complex surgical procedures.”
After graduating from Indiana University-Bloomington with a bachelor’s in journalism, Anicka joined TriMed’s Chicago team in 2017 covering cardiology. Close to her heart is long-form journalism, Pilot G-2 pens, dark chocolate and her dog Harper Lee.