Stryker backs modular surgical robots with CMR Surgical investment
Versius in use at an NHS hospital (photo: CMR Surgical)
Stryker, a US medical technology group supplying hospitals with products ranging from orthopaedic implants to surgical equipment, has agreed to invest approximately $400 million in CMR Surgical. The alliance gives the British robotics company financial backing and a major commercial partner as it enters the US market.
Announced on 12 October, the agreement includes a preferred equity investment, exclusive US sales rights for Stryker over CMR’s Versius portfolio, and an exclusive option to acquire the remaining equity in future. The transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. CMR will retain responsibility for portfolio development and commercialisation outside the United States.
The deal looks likely to strengthen competition with Intuitive Surgical, the established leader in soft-tissue surgical robotics through its da Vinci systems. Intuitive had 11,710 da Vinci systems installed worldwide at the end of June 2026, giving it a formidable presence for Stryker and its new partner to confront.
CMR, founded in Cambridge in 2014, approaches that challenge through the design of the operating-room equipment itself. Its Versius system places its robotic arms on separate movable carts, offering hospitals a different way to arrange a surgical system around the patient and the team.
How the Versius surgical robot works
Versius is a surgeon-controlled system for minimally invasive, or keyhole, surgery. Instruments and a camera enter the body through small incisions, while the surgeon operates from a console rather than manipulating conventional laparoscopic tools directly at the bedside.
A three-dimensional view helps the surgeon judge depth, while articulated instruments have tips that bend and rotate inside the body. When stitching in a confined space, for example, the surgeon can turn the instrument’s wrist to angle a needle through tissue. This adds dexterity beyond what conventional straight-shaft tools allow; decisions about cutting, grasping and stitching remain with the surgeon.
The carts provide flexibility at a different scale. Teams can position the arms around the operating table and use the number required for a procedure, selecting instrument entry points to suit the operation. Once positioned, the bedside units remain fixed during surgery: their mobility supports setup and redeployment, rather than movement around the room while operating.
Versius also uses an open console, keeping the surgeon visually connected with colleagues. By comparison, da Vinci Xi mounts its four arms on one patient-side cart and uses an immersive viewer. Its adjustable arm arrangement and console microphone also support positioning and communication, so the comparison concerns different design approaches rather than features present in only one system.
Medtronic’s Hugo likewise combines independent arm carts with an open console. Modularity is therefore part of a wider competitive response to hospitals’ needs, with each supplier required to demonstrate how its complete system performs in practice.
Bringing modular robotic surgery into existing theatres
That performance depends partly on the space around the operating table. Anaesthetic equipment, imaging displays and staff must all fit alongside the robot, while maintaining access to the patient.
CMR says its second-generation Versius Plus can move between departments and operating rooms without requiring a dedicated robotic theatre. Hospitals can therefore plan robotic and non-robotic procedures within the same room, rather than allocating that space exclusively to one system.
Milton Keynes University Hospital illustrates how adoption can extend across services. It introduced Versius in November 2019 and announced its 500th case in May 2023, reporting use in colorectal, gynaecological, general, upper gastrointestinal and urological surgery. That record demonstrates use across specialties, although it does not independently establish faster setup or lower costs.
Those operational benefits require their own evidence. A hospital sharing equipment needs coordinated scheduling, efficient preparation and enough trained staff to support the different surgical teams. A compact robot can ease physical constraints, but cannot resolve those organisational requirements by itself.
Versius FDA clearance and clinical evidence
The Milton Keynes experience forms part of a much larger international deployment. In March 2026, CMR reported that more than 45,000 patients worldwide had been treated using Versius, with adoption in more than 30 countries. These figures cover the platform’s cumulative use, rather than Versius Plus alone.
The US regulatory position is more restricted. The original Versius received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) marketing authorisation in October 2024. Versius Plus obtained FDA clearance on 16 December 2025 for gallbladder removal in patients aged 22 and over who are eligible for minimally invasive soft-tissue surgery. CMR also announced an application for benign gynaecological procedures in April 2026.
Alongside regulatory decisions, comparative studies help surgeons assess alternatives. Research published in March 2026 followed 150 patients with localised prostate cancer at one Italian hospital. Fifty underwent robot-assisted prostate removal on each of three platforms: da Vinci Xi, Hugo and Versius.
At six months, the researchers reported broadly comparable complication rates, cancer-related measures and most patient-reported outcomes. Some early functional differences had resolved by later follow-up. However, the study involved just two experienced surgeons at one centre. Its short follow-up cannot establish long-term cancer control or equivalence across procedures and hospitals.
The findings are nevertheless encouraging for evaluating alternatives, while leaving hospitals to assess how each platform fits their clinical services and resources.
The economics of robotic surgery
That assessment extends beyond the purchase price. Instruments, maintenance, training, staffing and theatre time all contribute to the cost of a robotic programme. Higher utilisation can spread fixed costs across more operations, provided suitable patients and trained teams are available.
Claims about affordability consequently need figures for actual workloads and spending per procedure. Clinical benefits also require a clear comparison: an advantage over open surgery does not automatically establish an advantage over conventional keyhole surgery.
Stryker brings established hospital relationships and complementary capabilities in endoscopy and visualisation, which could strengthen CMR’s commercial reach. Intuitive’s installed base, meanwhile, is supported by established training and service provision. Introducing another platform means building confidence in the support around the machine as well as in the equipment itself.
Surgical data and future AI assistance
Beyond that immediate adoption challenge, CMR is exploring how data could support future assistance for surgeons. In July, it showcased research with NVIDIA using simulation to predict how a surgical scene might change after a proposed robotic action. The work remains a research demonstration, outside the cleared Versius Plus system and not intended for patient care or clinical decisions.
For now, CMR’s opportunity rests on a more immediate proposition: helping hospitals extend robotic surgery across their existing services. Stryker can open commercial doors, but the decisive evidence will come from surgical programmes that put the modular design to sustained, productive use.
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