Changmugu® Secures RMB 120 Million in Pre-B Financing to Advance Orthopedic AI and Surgical Robotics

VCBeat has learned that Beijing Longwood Valley MedTech Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Longwood Valley®”), a high-tech enterprise specializing in orthopedic artificial intelligence and surgical robots, recently completed a Pre-B financing round of RMB 120 million. The round was led by Yuanhe Origin, with participation from Yuansheng Venture Capital, Legend Star, and Shenzhen Xinchuang. Kaicheng Capital served as the financial advisor. The funds will be primarily used to accelerate the research and development and clinical trials of orthopedic surgical robots, speed up the market promotion of orthopedic AI products, and prepare for global regulatory submissions and market expansion.

Longwood Valley® Joint Replacement Surgical Robot

Longwood Valley® is a national high-tech enterprise specializing in artificial intelligence (AI) and surgical robot solutions for orthopedics. It provides orthopedic surgeons with end-to-end solutions, including AI-assisted diagnosis, personalized surgical planning, 3D-printed surgical guides, surgical navigation, surgical robots, and postoperative assessment. Dr. Zhang Yiling, CEO of Longwood Valley®, stated, “Longwood Valley® will continue to deepen its expertise in the orthopedic field, optimizing its AI products and surgical robot systems to deliver more precise and intelligent comprehensive solutions. Meanwhile, we are advancing the application and approval of global clinical registrations. We aim to develop world-leading, intelligently manufactured Chinese products in the realm of smart and digital orthopedics, achieving precision, intelligence, and personalization in orthopedic surgeries, thereby benefiting more patients.”

In 2017, the Longwood Valley® team was established in the Longwood Medical Area, home to Harvard Medical School, and in Silicon Valley, home to Stanford University, co-founded by medical scientists and artificial intelligence experts. In 2018, the Longwood Valley® team returned to China, forming an interdisciplinary R&D team specializing in medicine and engineering, with members from prestigious universities such as Harvard University, Stanford University, Tsinghua University, and Peking University, as well as an engineering, technical, and management team with extensive experience in industrialization.

Within two years of its establishment, Longwood Valley® has successively received numerous honors and qualifications, including recognition as a National High-Tech Enterprise, Zhongguancun High-Tech Enterprise, Zhongguancun Fledgling Talent Enterprise, Zhongguancun Gold Seed Enterprise, one of the Top 50 Chinese Medical AI Enterprises, one of the Global Times’ Top Ten Most Investable Enterprises, and one of the Top 50 Unicorns in the New Healthcare Industry. The company has also completed four rounds of financing: a seed round led by FreeS Fund, a Pre-A round led by Legend Star, an A round led by the Qihang Fund of Zhongguancun Development Group, and an A+ round led by Legend Capital.

China’s orthopedic market is substantial, and with the accelerating trend of population aging, the market size of China’s orthopedic industry is expected to exceed RMB 100 billion. Taking artificial joint replacement surgery as an example, the number of such procedures performed in China reached nearly 900,000 in 2019, continuing to grow rapidly at an annual rate of approximately 20%. Nevertheless, compared to the penetration rate of joint replacement surgeries in the United States, the Chinese market still holds immense potential for development.

Abroad, a wave of intelligent digitalization in orthopedics, represented by surgical robots, preoperative planning, and surgical navigation, is sweeping across the industry. Artificial intelligence and surgical robotics have become the focal point of an arms race among international orthopedic giants. Major players such as Stryker, Johnson & Johnson, Zimmer Biomet, Smith & Nephew, and Medtronic have heavily invested in laying out their surgical robotics strategies. In 2013, Stryker acquired MAKO, a move that propelled its dominance in the field of joint digitalization. By 2020, the global installed base of MAKO surgical robots exceeded 1,000 units, with more than 350,000 procedures performed. Over 150 authoritative academic studies have demonstrated its superior clinical performance, establishing it as the most successful surgical robot for joint replacement.

In China, orthopedic surgeons lack digital and intelligent tools, forcing them to rely on personal experience and spatial imagination for rough surgical planning and to perform surgeries using traditional instruments. Dr. Zhang Yiling stated:“Artificial joint replacement surgery is technically demanding, requires high precision, and involves a steep learning curve for surgeons, which has significantly hindered the ability of young and primary-care physicians in China to perform these procedures effectively. Even in large tertiary hospitals, experienced lead surgeons face substantial challenges in achieving precision and perfection in every operation, aiming for the ‘Forgotten Joint’ outcome. There is a clear and pressing demand among Chinese orthopedic surgeons for precise, intelligent, and digital solutions in orthopedic surgery.”

To address the pain points of traditional orthopedic surgery, Longwood Valley® has collaborated with authoritative orthopedic expert teams from over 50 top-tier tertiary hospitals, including PLA General Hospital (301 Hospital), Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing Jishuitan Hospital, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, West China Hospital, and the Third Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University. By transforming the extensive surgical experience of leading joint surgeons into standardized algorithms for artificial intelligence deep learning, they have developed the AIJOINT AI-assisted 3D surgical solution for joint replacement. This comprehensive joint solution provides orthopedic surgeons with end-to-end support covering preoperative planning, intraoperative navigation, and postoperative evaluation. The product suite includes AIUNI, AIKNEE, AIHIP, and AIREVISION, offering full coverage from unicompartmental knee arthroplasty to total knee replacement systems, and from primary hip arthroplasty to revision joint systems. It enables rapid 3D reconstruction, intelligent segmentation, recognition, and measurement, ensuring precise prosthetic matching and accurate osteotomy positioning. AIJOINT effectively addresses clinicians' practical needs and has received high acclaim from numerous top surgical experts.

Building on its advanced orthopedic AI system, the Longwood Valley® team has integrated a surgical robot capable of precisely executing intelligent planning operations into its AI core, launching the Longwood Valley® Joint Replacement Surgical Robot. By leveraging deep learning from extensive expert surgical experience, the joint replacement surgical robot can intelligently provide optimal preoperative solutions. The system enables precise preoperative planning and accurate intraoperative positioning, addressing issues such as insufficient surgical precision and excessive reliance on surgeon experience in traditional joint replacement procedures. Meanwhile, based on its AI system, Longwood Valley® has introduced 3D-printed patient-specific instruments (PSI) surgical guides as an intraoperative execution terminal, significantly enhancing surgeons’ efficiency and outcomes across diverse clinical scenarios, and earning widespread acclaim and recognition among orthopedic surgeons.

Dr. Zhang Yiling stated, “Over the past two years since its establishment, Longwood Valley® has launched an integrated AI-assisted stepwise treatment solution for joint disorders, continuously iterating and upgrading its offerings while expanding its product portfolio to encompass software, hardware, consumables, and services. We hope that Longwood Valley®’s product series will become a ‘super tool’ for orthopedic surgeons, offering advantages such as improved precision, standardization, and safety in orthopedic procedures. It can effectively lower the threshold for joint replacement surgery and reduce the learning curve for physicians, enabling rapid and widespread adoption across the Chinese market. By empowering orthopedic surgeons, particularly young and mid-career practitioners as well as those at primary care institutions, it ultimately benefits patients. Our mission at Longwood Valley® is to make no surgery difficult. Looking ahead, Longwood Valley® will further advance its overseas expansion plans, accelerating U.S. FDA registration and EU CE certification for its relevant products.”

As Johnson & Johnson MedTech serves as the strategic partner of Longwood Valley® in the field of artificial intelligence, both parties have engaged in in-depth collaboration in the digitalization and intelligence of orthopedics, jointly promoting digital solutions for orthopedic surgery.AI products have been deployed within a single year at PLA General Hospital (301 Hospital), Beijing Jishuitan Hospital, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Peking University Third Hospital, Peking University People's Hospital, West China Hospital, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University, The Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang Third Hospital, Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Guizhou Provincial People's Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao Municipal Hospital, Yantaishan Hospital, Shanghai Changzheng Hospital, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Henan Provincial Orthopedic Hospital, Zhengzhou Orthopedic Hospital, Xijing Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou Second Hospital, Fujian Provincial Hospital, Liuzhou Workers' Hospital in Guangxi, and General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, among others.27 provincial-level administrative regions, 150+ large Grade A tertiary hospitalsAchieve collaboration and implementation. Jointly promote the decentralization of high-quality orthopedic diagnosis and treatment technologies to primary care institutions in partnership with the National Clinical Research Center for Orthopedics and Sports Rehabilitation, thereby facilitating the comprehensive implementation of the national tiered diagnosis and treatment policy.

Recently, clinical registration approvals for AI-based medical products have been granted in succession, making the practical implementation of AI in healthcare increasingly promising. Driven by innovative technologies in artificial intelligence and surgical robotics, Longwood Valley® has deeply cultivated the orthopedics sector. By building an orthopedic infrastructure platform through a comprehensive “software + hardware + consumables + services” ecosystem, it achieves “precision, speed, and full coverage.” This approach addresses the pain points of multiple stakeholders, including physicians, patients, manufacturers, and the entire healthcare system, thereby promoting the intelligent and digital transformation and upgrading of orthopedic care.

Yang Zhiwen, Partner at Yuanhe Origin, stated“We are optimistic about the vast market opportunities in the orthopedics sector and have been actively seeking technology-driven companies capable of truly leading the future. Longwood Valley® has leveraged AI technology to effectively address the challenging problem of surgical planning for artificial joint replacement, a breakthrough that places it at the forefront globally. By building its proprietary AI technology platform, Longwood Valley® has enabled rapid clinical deployment in hospitals, continuously optimized its AI algorithms, and steadily enhanced user stickiness, thereby invisibly constructing a deep competitive moat. Based on this AI system, Longwood Valley® has developed a surgical robot system that achieves seamless integration between preoperative planning and intraoperative execution. Furthermore, Dr. Zhang Yiling’s international background and global vision, coupled with close collaboration with Johnson & Johnson MedTech, a global leader in orthopedics, add immense potential to Longwood Valley®’s international expansion. We remain firmly confident in the future of Longwood Valley®.”

Dr. Lin Yi, Managing Partner at Yuansheng Venture Capital, stated“Longwood Valley® is a leading enterprise in the digitalization of orthopedic joint surgery in China. The AIJOINT system has gained support and recognition from Chinese orthopedic joint experts, Johnson & Johnson, and the market. We highly recognize Longwood Valley®’s core team. Dr. Zhang Yiling leads an interdisciplinary team combining medicine and engineering, characterized by strategic vision and strong execution capabilities. We look forward to this collaboration with Longwood Valley® to help our company deepen its presence in the fields of joint digitalization and surgical robotics, better support orthopedic surgeons, and deliver more valuable medical services to patients.”

Wang Yi, Executive Director of Legend StarIndicates“One of our recent investment themes is applying steep technology to transform the traditional healthcare industry, and Longwood Valley® is a prime example of this theme. Although Longwood Valley®’s product portfolio spans surgical planning, 3D-printed surgical guides, and surgical robots, its core competency actually lies in data and AI capabilities, along with the resulting capacity for continuous iteration. Longwood Valley®’s cross-disciplinary team background enables the introduction of the tremendous progress humanity has already made in chips, data, and algorithms into the healthcare industry, which has evolved only gradually over the past 10–20 years. This represents the future direction of medical device development.”