Panda Surgical
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Founders
About
Panda Surgical is a University College London (UCL) spinout developing handheld robotic systems for minimally invasive neurosurgery 1. The company was co-founded in 2022 by Manios Dimitrakakis (CEO), UCLH neurosurgeon Hani Marcus (CMO), and UCL Computer Science Professor Danail Stoyanov (Scientific Advisor), translating technology developed during Dimitrakakis’s PhD at the Wellcome/EPSRC Centre for Interventional and Surgical Sciences (WEISS) 2. The platform features detachable wristed instruments as small as 3mm in diameter, combining robotic dexterity with AI-powered software to enable safer and more precise procedures in confined surgical spaces 13. The company is headquartered at UCL Here East in London 1.
Funding History
| Date | Round | Amount | Lead | Co-investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-05-13 | Seed | £1M | PrimaNova Technologies | |
| 2024-12-11 | Grant | £1M+ | NIHR i4i PDA | |
| 2025-09-26 | Seed Extension | £1M | Oxford Investment Consultants | New Wave Ventures, UCL Business 3 |
PrimaNova Technologies led the initial seed round in May 2023 and entered a strategic partnership to bring the system into the clinic 4. In December 2024, Panda Surgical, in partnership with UCLH and UCL, secured an NIHR Invention for Innovation Product Development Award (i4i PDA) exceeding £1 million to fund a two-year project including the first-in-human clinical trial for brain tumor removal surgery 5. In September 2025, the company closed a £1 million strategic round led by Oxford Investment Consultants, with participation from New Wave Ventures, UCL Business, and US and European neurosurgeons 36.
What Investors Say
Hector Edwards of Oxford Investment Consultants, who joined the board after leading the September 2025 round, described the company as having a “great team, exciting technology, and real passion to transform neurosurgery” 6.
What Founders Say
Manios Dimitrakakis, CEO: “Our mission is to enhance the neurosurgeon’s capabilities to improve patient outcomes and allow hospitals to maximise their resources” 5.
Hani Marcus, CMO and UCLH neurosurgeon: “Combining robotic instruments with artificial intelligence has the potential to transform neurosurgery” 5.
Sources
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Panda Surgical website, accessed April 2026. https://www.panda-surgical.com/↩↩↩
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UCLB, “UCLB spinout Panda Surgical’s ‘world first’ neurosurgical robots set to revolutionise complex surgery,” February 16, 2024, accessed April 2026. https://www.uclb.com/2024/02/16/uclb-spinout-panda-surgicals-world-first-neurosurgical-robots-set-to-revolutionise-complex-surgery/↩
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Panda Surgical press release, “Panda Surgical secures £1M investment to advance their next-generation neurosurgical robotics platform,” September 26, 2025, accessed April 2026. https://www.panda-surgical.com/press/panda-surgical-secures-ps1m-investment-to-advance-their-next-generation-neurosurgical-robotics-platform↩↩↩
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PrimaNova Technologies, “Partnership with Panda Surgical and seed financing,” May 13, 2023, accessed April 2026. https://primanovamed.com/en/news/partnership-with-panda-surgical-and-seed-financing↩
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Panda Surgical press release, “Panda Surgical secures over £1 Million NIHR i4i PDA grant to advance robotics and AI for neurosurgery,” December 2024, accessed April 2026. https://www.panda-surgical.com/press/panda-surgical-secures-over-ps1-million-nihr-i4i-pda-grant-to-advance-robotics-and-ai-for-neurosurgery↩↩↩
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UCLB, “Panda Surgical secures £1m investment to advance neurosurgical robotics platform,” September 30, 2025, accessed April 2026. https://www.uclb.com/2025/09/30/panda-surgical-secures-1m-investment-to-advance-neurosurgical-robotics-platform/↩↩