This article is a translation of the original article published by ZDNet Korea. Read the original version here.
AIRS announced on the 11th that it has secured a Series A investment of KRW 5 billion (USD 3.43M).
This investment round was led by lead investor, L&S Venture Capital, alongside Re Investment, Open Venture Investment, SL Investment, and Technology Guarantee Fund.
Additionally, AIRS has been selected as a participant in the '2024 Strategic Technology Theme Project' by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups in the advanced bio sector. Through this initiative, AIRS will receive KRW 3.6 billion won (USD 2.47M) in government funding. The project aims to support SMEs and startups in pursuing high-risk, high-performance research and development (R&D) through public-private collaboration, offering up to 10 billion KRW (USD 6.87M) in fields of national strategic technologies with high global demand, such as advanced bio, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and secondary batteries. A total of six companies were selected for this program.
With these funds, AIRS plans to accelerate the commercialisation of its technology and global market expansion. Sang-hyun Joung, CEO of AIRS said, “This investment and selection for the government project marks a significant milestone that recognises AIRS’ technological capabilities and growth potential in pioneering a new paradigm for fracture surgeries. We are currently establishing strategic partnerships in Singapore and India while actively pursuing FDA approval in the United States. Moving forward, we aim to lead innovations in fracture surgery and become a company that shapes the future of the healthcare industry.”
Founded in 2020, AIRS specialises AI-powered surgical robot solutions that digitise fracture surgeries. Traditional fracture surgeries rely on multiple orthopaedic specialists interpreting complex fracture conditions using 2D X-ray images, which often lead to errors and excessive radiation exposure. AIRS addresses these challenges with its AI robotic technology.
Its core solution comprises a surgical robot, navigation system, and fixation pins. The surgical robot is designed as a Stewart platform that attaches to broken bones, enabling precise alignment with minimal effort from medical staff. The fixation pins connect bone fragments to the robot and are designed to be inserted into only one cortical bone layer, reducing risks while providing strong stability.
The navigation system offers real-time 3D modelling to display the current position of bone fragments and allows for setting target positions and movement paths. It integrates with the robotic mechanism to provide automatic alignment functionality, minimizing radiation use and significantly reducing exposure levels.
AIRS was also selected as part of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' “DIPS Innovation Startup 1000+ (DIPS 1000+)” project in the bio-health sector. In 2023, it obtained medical device approval from South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) and the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy New Excellent Technology (NET). Currently, AIRS is participating in a demonstration project by the Korea Institute for Robot Industry Advancement, supplying its solutions to Daegu Medical Center while preparing for clinical trials.
Comments