Tinavi Announces 'David vs. Goliath' Acquisition of Shanghai MicroPort Orthopedics to Enter Overseas Markets and Orthopedic Implant Sector

Source: Beike Finance

July 29, BeijingTINAVITINAVI Medical Technologies Co., Ltd. (“TINAVI”) disclosed its plan to acquire a 62% equity interest in Shanghai MicroPort Orthopedics Medical Technology Co., Ltd. (“Shanghai Orthopedics”) held by five shareholders, including Suzhou MicroPort Orthopedics (Group) Co., Ltd. (“Suzhou Orthopedics”), through the issuance of shares, and to raise matching funds.

TINAVI is a domestic orthopedic surgeryRobotAlthough TINAVI is an industry leader, its 2025 revenue remained below RMB 300 million. In the same period, Shanghai Orthopedics reported operating revenues exceeding RMB 1.5 billion, with a registered capital of RMB 2.48 billion. Its flagship product, the InnerAxis knee system, boasts over 20 years of clinical application history and has achieved more than one million implants globally. The significant disparity in size and revenue scale between the two companies has led industry observers to characterize this acquisition as a “snake swallowing an elephant.”

Previously, due to the planning of the aforementioned issuance of shares to purchase assets and raise matching funds, TINAVI was suspended from trading starting July 16, 2026, and resumed trading at the market open on July 30, 2026. As of the close on July 30, TINAVI’s stock price was RMB 17.40 per share, a decrease of 8.85%, with a market capitalization of RMB 8.116 billion.

The transfer consideration has not yet been determined.

Shanghai Orthopedics is a holding subsidiary of Suzhou MicroPort Orthopedics (Group) Co., Ltd., which is under the listed company MicroPort Scientific Corporation. It serves as the operating entity for MicroPort’s international (non-China) orthopedic business. Shanghai Orthopedics primarily engages in knee and hip reconstruction businesses in overseas markets such as the United States, Japan, and Europe. Its main products include orthopedic implants like hip prostheses and knee prostheses, and it has established a mature overseas sales network.

Shanghai Orthopaedics pioneered the world’s first concept of the medial pivot knee and its associated Advance system. The CS model of the Advance medial pivot knee prosthesis (excluding the patellar component) has been awarded the highest rating of “15A*” by ODEP (Orthopaedic Data Evaluation Panel), a globally authoritative rating agency in the orthopaedic industry. Since its market launch, the cumulative number of implants of the medial pivot knee products has exceeded one million cases.

However, Shanghai Orthopedics has reported losses for two consecutive periods. From 2024 to 2025 and from January to March 2026, its operating revenues were RMB 1.669 billion, RMB 1.573 billion, and RMB 359 million, respectively; net profits were -RMB 95.8036 million, -RMB 105 million, and -RMB 40.1802 million, respectively. As of March 31, 2026, total assets amounted to RMB 2.259 billion, total liabilities reached RMB 1.947 billion, and equity attributable to shareholders of the parent company totaled RMB 312 million.

As of now, the audit and valuation work for this transaction has not been completed, and the transfer consideration for Shanghai Orthopedics has not yet been determined.

Ongoing Losses Accelerate Product Overseas Expansion

TINAVI was listed on the STAR Market of the Shanghai Stock Exchange in July 2020, becoming the first company on the STAR Market with surgical robots as its core business, earning it the title of “the first stock of surgical robots.” Its core product, the Tiandi Orthopedic Surgical Robot, has been clinically applied in more than 200 medical institutions across China, with the number of surgeries exceeding 160,000 cases. In 2025, TINAVI ranked first in market share for orthopedic surgical robots in China.

Despite TINAVI’s leading position in the domestic orthopedic robotics sector, the company has continued to incur losses, with the deficit widening, due to factors such as high barriers to product development, substantial R&D investment, and lengthy development cycles. Since its listing in 2020, TINAVI has accumulated losses of RMB 700 million. The loss amounted to less than RMB 100 million in 2021, but expanded to RMB 183 million in 2025.

Unstable operating revenue, which has yet to surpass RMB 300 million. From 2020 to 2025, TINAVI’s operating revenues were RMB 136 million, RMB 156 million, RMB 156.2 million, RMB 210 million, RMB 179 million, and RMB 279 million, respectively. In 2025, revenue increased by 55% year-on-year, primarily driven by a recovery in the industry market, with significant growth recorded in sales of orthopedic surgery navigation and positioning systems, related equipment and consumables, as well as technical service revenue.

Data from the first quarter of 2026 shows that TINAVI achieved an operating revenue of RMB 52.7218 million, a year-on-year decrease of 10.0%. The net profit attributable to shareholders was a loss of RMB 46.45 million, continuing the trend of losses. During the reporting period, the company continuedAdvancementOverseas orders were implemented, with some overseas projects fulfilling delivery in the first quarter of 2026. Overseas business revenue recognized in Q1 2026 amounted to RMB 9.7361 million.

According to IQVIA’s report, “The Rise of Robotics in Orthopedics,” the global market size for orthopedic surgical robots reached $1.9 billion in 2024, with a robot penetration rate of 34% for knee arthroplasty procedures in the United States. The global market is projected to maintain an annual growth rate of over 10% from 2025 to 2030. By 2030, the number of knee arthroplasty procedures in the U.S. is expected to reach 1.3 million, with the robot penetration rate rising to 64%.

In recent years, China has witnessed an explosive growth in the registration of orthopedic surgical robot products, leading to increasingly fierce market competition. Meanwhile, compared to the domestic market, mature markets such as those in Europe and the United States started adopting orthopedic surgical robots earlier, with healthcare institutions and clinicians demonstrating a higher acceptance of robot-assisted surgeries. Consequently, orthopedic surgical robots in these regions remain in a phase of continuous penetration and expanding application scenarios. Expanding into overseas markets is a crucial pathway for Chinese orthopedic surgical robot enterprises to scale up their business, optimize regional layouts, and enhance international competitiveness.

Through this acquisition, TINAVI aims to enter the orthopedic implant sector while leveraging Shanghai Orthopedics’ overseas sales network. TINAVI stated that, due to the stabilizing industry landscape, the growth rate of the domestic orthopedic surgical robot market has slowed, and endogenous growth momentum has weakened. To break through development bottlenecks, the company will complement its orthopedic implant product portfolio via this industrial merger and acquisition, further perfecting its integrated “robot + implants” business layout. Additionally, by utilizing Shanghai Orthopedics’ production and commercialization systems in markets such as the United States, Europe, and Japan, TINAVI will accelerate the global expansion of its orthopedic surgical robot products.

Beijing News reporter Liu Xu

Editor: Wang Lu

Proofread by Mu Xiangtong