Yuanhua Intelligence Secures Tens of Millions in Angel Funding from Shenzhen Capital Group to Advance Orthopedic Surgical Robot Development

VCBeat has learned that on July 13, Yuanhua Robotics, Perception and AI Technologies Limited (hereinafter referred to as “Yuanhua Tech”), a developer of orthopedic surgical robots, held a strategic financing signing ceremony, announcing the completion of an angel round financing totaling tens of millions of RMB from Shenzhen Capital Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “SCGC”) and its healthcare industry fund and Hongtu Angel Fund. The funds raised will be primarily used for clinical trials of the company’s total knee arthroplasty surgical robot system and the research and development of other subsequent products.

Yuanhua Tech is an innovative high-tech enterprise specializing in high-end medical and intelligent service robots. Led by Academician Meng Qinghu, the company’s R&D team comprises PhDs and master’s graduates from top universities worldwide, leveraging internationally leading innovative technologies to develop advanced medical and service robotic products for the benefit of humanity.

The company’s current core product is the BoneSheng Yuanhua Full Orthopedic Surgical Assistance Robot System, a world-leading system for orthopedic surgical assistance. This system covers all types of orthopedic surgeries, including knee and hip joint replacements, trauma fixation with screw placement and bone setting, and spinal laminectomy. Among these, total knee arthroplasty has entered the clinical trial phase. Under the leadership of the National Clinical Research Center for Orthopedics, Sports Medicine, and Rehabilitation, a multicenter randomized controlled clinical trial is being conducted by the First Medical Center of the Chinese PLA General Hospital in collaboration with five top domestic orthopedic hospitals: West China Hospital of Sichuan University, the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, and the Second Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University of the Chinese PLA. On June 12, Professor Chen Jiying and Professor Chai Wei’s team at the First Medical Center of the Chinese PLA General Hospital successfully completed the first domestically produced robot-assisted total knee arthroplasty.

Currently, the global market for orthopedic surgical robots is largely monopolized by a few major foreign companies, characterized by high costs for acquisition, training, and use, limited surgical functionalities, and narrow application scopes. The orthopedic surgical robot market in China is still in its nascent stage, with no domestically available surgical assistance robot capable of performing total knee arthroplasty. Yuanhua Tech’s surgical robot products cover various mainstream orthopedic surgical procedures, effectively enhancing surgical precision and stability. This will undoubtedly accelerate the rapid advancement of domestically produced surgical robots, overcome critical technological bottlenecks, and contribute to the early realization of the ambitious goal of leading international innovation in high-end medical devices.

The BoneSaint Yuanhua Full-Orthopedic Surgical Assistance Robot System, independently developed and manufactured by Yuanhua Tech, is a fully autonomous orthopedic surgical assistance robot system with independent intellectual property rights, capable of achieving precise, efficient, and safe positioning, osteotomy, drilling, milling, and screw placement.

Compared with other orthopedic surgical robot products, the Yuanyuan Huahua Surgical Robot System is based on multimodal information feedback of vision, position, and force. It offers better compliance in intelligent interactive control, higher safety, more precise navigation tracking and robotic arm control, and shorter registration time. In addition, the product incorporates a fully self-developed intraoperative safety protection strategy algorithm to prevent accidental injury to important organ tissues such as ligaments, blood vessels, and nerves during surgery, thereby further ensuring the precision, efficiency, and safety of the procedure.

The Gusheng Yuanhua Surgical Robot System covers the entire workflow of orthopedic surgery, including preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative phases. Its product features encompass a complete suite of algorithms, software, and hardware for self-learning big data-based expert intelligent preoperative planning, semi-automatic CT segmentation, real-time intraoperative positioning and navigation, real-time intraoperative soft tissue balancing, adaptive compliant control of robotic arms, safe, precise, and efficient osteotomy, as well as postoperative rehabilitation monitoring and assessment. It is currently the orthopedic surgical robot with the highest technical performance. The system’s human-machine interaction strategy incorporates insights and recommendations from numerous top orthopedic specialists in China, aligning with the operational habits of Chinese surgeons. This design significantly shortens the learning curve for physicians while substantially enhancing surgical precision and efficiency.

Shenzhen Capital Group President Zuo Ding, Vice President Zhang Jian, Health Industry Fund Partners Zhou Yi and Yi Hongxiang, Yuanhua Tech Founder and Chief Scientist Meng Qinghu, and Chairman Meng Li Aili attended the signing ceremony.

Zuo Ding, President of Shenzhen Capital Group (SCGC), stated: “Yuanhua Tech’s completion of its angel financing round signifies that the company’s brand, R&D, and marketing will all enter a phase of rapid development. In the face of future challenges and opportunities, SCGC will work alongside Yuanhua Tech and other shareholders to drive innovation and breakthroughs, ushering in a new era of brilliance for Yuanhua Tech.”

Zhang Jian, Vice President of Shenzhen Capital Group, stated, “Yuanhua Tech’s products are positioned at the high end, with broad market prospects. In recent years, global orthopedic device giants have entered the field of orthopedic surgical robots, leading to increasingly fierce competition. In China, however, this sector is still in its early stages, representing a blue ocean ripe for exploration. The development of surgical robots aligns with the national commitment to advancing high-end medical devices, making now the right time to invest in orthopedic surgical robots. Yuanhua Tech boasts a well-structured team with top-tier talent across R&D, production, and marketing. We are confident in supporting Yuanhua Tech to become a great enterprise.”

Academician Meng Qinghu, Founder and Chief Scientist of Yuanhua Tech, stated: “The GuSheng Yuanhua Total Orthopedic Surgical Assistance Robotic System integrates our proprietary algorithms, specialized software, and state-of-the-art hardware, developed through years of R&D accumulation. It is currently the orthopedic surgical robot with the highest technical proficiency, the most comprehensive coverage of orthopedic procedures, and the best cost-performance ratio. Shenzhen Capital Group Co., Ltd. (SCGC) is a renowned investor in innovative technologies within China. The strategic partnership between SCGC and Yuanhua Tech will undoubtedly propel significant advancements in China’s high-end medical device industry, empower domestic enterprises to overcome critical technological bottlenecks, and elevate China’s high-end medical devices to a leading position on the global stage.”

Yuanhua Tech’s latest funding round was led by Shenzhen Capital Group’s Healthcare Industry Fund. Dr. Zhou Yi, Partner at the fund, stated, “The wave of domestic substitution for orthopedic medical devices is unstoppable. Yuanhua Tech ranks among the top tier in the field of orthopedic surgical robots, boasting profound technological expertise and a robust, independent intellectual property portfolio. It is poised to surpass overseas peers, marking China’s emergence as a global leader or near-leader in high-end surgical robotics. We hope this financing will accelerate Yuanhua Tech’s clinical trials and regulatory approval processes, thereby providing strong support for orthopedic surgical treatment in China as soon as possible.”

Yuanhua Robotics, Perception and AI Technologies Limited was founded in 2018 as an innovative high-tech enterprise specializing in medical surgical robots, service robots for dense crowds, and scenario-based artificial intelligence. Under the leadership of Academician Meng Qinghu, the company’s R&D team comprises PhDs and master’s graduates from top universities both in China and abroad. Leveraging internationally leading innovative technologies, the team develops advanced medical and service robotics products to benefit humanity. The company’s current core product is a whole-orthopedics surgical assistance robot system with world-leading capabilities.

Shenzhen Capital Group Co., Ltd. was established in 1999 with funding from the Shenzhen Municipal Government, which also guided social capital investment. With a mission to discover and empower great enterprises, the company is committed to identifying and nurturing innovative value. It has grown into a comprehensive investment group centered on venture capital. As of the end of May 2020, it managed total assets of approximately RMB 350 billion and had facilitated the public listing of 164 portfolio companies.

Shenzhen Hongtu Medical Health Industry Fund was established in 2018 as the first medical health industry fund launched by Shenzhen Capital Group Co., Ltd. (SCGC) to advance its “specialization” strategy. The fund focuses on identifying high-quality investment targets with strong innovation capabilities and significant growth potential, thereby promoting industrial development. Within less than two years, the fund has invested in more than ten outstanding enterprises, including Akeso, YHLO, Medcaptain, Lianxin Medical, Lidakang, Kangsheng Medical, Shanghai Zhimeng, GenFleet Therapeutics, and Yuanhua Tech.

Shenzhen Hongtu Angel Equity Investment Fund was established in 2018 as a fund jointly founded by Shenzhen Capital Group (SCGC) and the Shenzhen Angel Guidance Fund, focusing on early-stage angel investments. The fund aims to support the development of innovative startups in Shenzhen, facilitate the city’s industrial transformation and upgrading, and strategically invest in a portfolio of companies with the potential for disruptive innovation. Within less than two years of its establishment, the fund has invested in several outstanding enterprises, including Yisha Information, Shanghai Huixinchen, Zhongke Ruijian, Sailan Biotech, Weidu Intelligence, and Dazhou Medicine.