Singapore-based medtech company Biobot Surgical has raised SGD 20 million (about US$15.6 million) in a financing round led by ClavystBio, with participation from ZIG Ventures, as it looks to expand global adoption of its robotic-assisted prostate cancer care platform and enter the US market.
The company develops Mona Lisa, a platform that combines robotic needle guidance with MRI-ultrasound image fusion for targeted prostate biopsy and focal ablation procedures. The system is designed for transperineal prostate interventions, an approach increasingly preferred by clinicians seeking to reduce infection risks and improve access to hard-to-reach lesions.
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The raise puts Biobot among a small but growing group of Southeast Asian medtech firms attempting to move beyond domestic or regional deployment and compete in heavily regulated global healthcare markets. For Singapore, where state-linked capital and research institutions have long sought to turn biomedical research into commercial companies, Biobot’s next phase will be watched as a test of whether homegrown medical robotics can scale internationally.
A Singapore medtech moving into a larger global fight
Prostate cancer is among the most commonly diagnosed cancers in men globally, with more than 1.4 million new cases each year. In the US, around one in eight men will develop prostate cancer in their lifetime, according to the American Cancer Society.
Diagnosis has traditionally relied on transrectal ultrasound-guided biopsy, but the field has been shifting towards transperineal procedures, where the prostate is accessed through the skin between the scrotum and anus rather than through the rectum. The change is being driven by lower infection risk, better targeting of certain areas of the prostate, and improved compatibility with image-guided and robotic workflows.
This is the clinical shift Biobot is betting on. Its Mona Lisa platform supports physicians in planning and guiding prostate needle placement using fused MRI and ultrasound images. The goal is to make biopsies and focal therapies more accurate and reproducible, while potentially allowing some procedures to move from hospital operating rooms into ambulatory surgery centres and, eventually, office-based settings.
Biobot says it has deployed more than 80 systems globally and supported over 30,000 patients, with adoption across centres in Europe and Asia-Pacific. The company also points to more than 50 real-world clinical publications supporting its use in targeted transperineal biopsy and precision needle placement.
For a Singapore-based device company, those numbers matter. Medical robotics startups often struggle to bridge the gap between promising engineering and repeatable commercial adoption. Hospitals are cautious buyers, doctors need training, reimbursement can be complex, and regulatory pathways vary widely across markets. The US, while large and lucrative, is also one of the most difficult healthcare markets to enter.
Funding to build evidence and a US beachhead
Biobot plans to use the capital to accelerate international commercialisation, strengthen clinical and economic evidence, and build the commercial infrastructure needed for the next stage of growth. A key part of the plan is a focused US entry strategy.
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As part of that effort, the company will work with Fogarty Innovation, a California-based medtech accelerator and advisory organisation, to identify priority clinical segments, engage clinicians, and shape its commercialisation approach.
The US market is particularly important because prostate cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatment represent a large and mature specialty segment. At the same time, any new device platform must prove not only that it works clinically, but also that it fits into physician workflows, hospital budgets, and reimbursement systems.
“The objective is not simply to place systems, but to build Mona Lisa into a precision intervention platform for prostate care, connecting imaging, robotic guidance, procedure data and focal treatment workflows,” said Sim Kok Hwee, Deputy Chairman and CEO of Biobot Surgical.
That positioning is important. Biobot is not pitching Mona Lisa merely as a biopsy robot, but as a platform that can sit across the prostate cancer care pathway, from diagnosis to targeted treatment. If it can execute, this could give the company a broader role in clinical decision-making and longitudinal patient management.
Why this matters for Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia has produced relatively few globally visible medical robotics companies, despite rising healthcare demand, ageing populations, and growing investment in specialist care. The region’s healthtech funding has historically leaned towards telemedicine, digital health platforms, insurance technology, and clinic management software. Hardware-heavy medtech, especially robotics, is harder to build because it requires deep clinical validation, manufacturing discipline, regulatory expertise, and long sales cycles.
Singapore is the regional exception. Its combination of public research funding, hospital networks, biomedical manufacturing capabilities, and investors such as Temasek-backed ClavystBio has made it the most likely base for Southeast Asian medtech companies with global ambitions.
ClavystBio was set up by Temasek to help commercialise biotech and medtech ideas from Asia. Its involvement in Biobot signals continued interest in backing companies that can move beyond laboratory innovation into regulated international markets.
“Biobot has the right combination of clinical relevance, international traction, and platform potential,” said Anselm Tan, medtech lead at ClavystBio. “The market is moving toward prostate procedures that are safer, more precise, and more reproducible.”
For the wider region, Biobot’s progress could also have practical implications. Prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment are uneven across Southeast Asia, with gaps in access to specialists, imaging, and advanced intervention technologies. If robotic-guided workflows can lower procedural complexity and support more standardised care, they may eventually help expand access beyond top-tier hospitals, though cost and training remain significant barriers.
The road ahead
Biobot’s next challenge is execution. Its installed base and clinical publications give it a foundation, but scaling in medtech requires more than product adoption at leading centres. The company will need to show that Mona Lisa can deliver measurable clinical and economic value across different healthcare settings.
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That means convincing hospitals and urologists that the platform improves biopsy accuracy, reduces complications, shortens workflows, or enables new treatment models. It also means building support, training, and service capabilities in markets where device reliability and physician confidence are essential.
The company’s US strategy will be especially critical. Success there could validate the platform globally and strengthen Biobot’s credibility across Europe and Asia Pacific. Failure to gain traction, however, would underline the difficulty of turning Southeast Asian medtech engineering into a global commercial business.
For now, the new funding gives Biobot room to push that ambition. In a region where startup stories are still dominated by software, fintech, and consumer platforms, its progress offers a different narrative: a Singapore-born medical robotics company trying to prove that Southeast Asia can build complex healthcare technology for the world.
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