Israeli medtech company ForSight Robotics has raised US$125 million in a series B funding round led by Eclipse.

The funding will support the development of its robotic eye surgery platform, ORYOM, which aims to perform precise cataract surgeries and address other common eye conditions.

Founded in 2020, ForSight Robotics is based in Yokneam Illit, Israel, with plans to relocate to Caesarea.

The company has raised a total of US$195 million to date and employs 110 people.

Its first human clinical trials are expected to begin this year after successful preclinical procedures on animals.

🔗 Source: Calcalist

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Israel’s unique medtech ecosystem offers lessons in specialized innovation

Israel’s emergence as a surgical robotics hub reflects its broader success in medical technology, with ForSight Robotics being the latest example of its specialized innovation pipeline.

The country ranks fifth globally in Bloomberg’s Innovation Index and leads in R&D intensity, investing 4.3% of GDP ($12.7 billion annually) in research and development activities that fuel medtech advancement1.

This innovation ecosystem is powered by a unique combination of factors: military technology transfer (as seen in companies like InSightec, which adapted missile guidance systems for medical use), robust government support through incubators, and the influx of highly educated immigrants in the 1990s2.

The medtech sector has evolved beyond pure innovation to commercialization, with 40% of Israeli medical device companies now generating revenue compared to just 25% five years earlier, demonstrating increased market viability3.

ForSight’s development follows a pattern seen in successful Israeli medical device companies that leverage sophisticated engineering expertise to solve specific healthcare challenges, similar to earlier breakthroughs like PillCam and ReWalk1.

2️⃣ Robotics addresses critical workforce gaps in global ophthalmology

ForSight’s ORYOM platform emerges against a backdrop of a severe global ophthalmology workforce crisis that threatens access to essential eye care.

The world faces a stark imbalance: over 600 million people suffer from cataracts, yet only 30 million receive surgical treatment annually, highlighting a massive treatment gap that’s expected to widen as the ophthalmologist workforce is projected to decline by 12% while demand increases by 24% by 2035.