Apply today for the 2026 cohort here!
Healthcare Robotics Startup Catalyst
The Healthcare Robotics Startup Catalyst is an established program presented by MassRobotics in collaboration with FESTO, Mitsubishi Electric Automation, Novanta, and MITRE. This program is designed to support healthcare robotics startups by offering comprehensive and valuable mentorship guidance, and essential resources to foster growth and success.
The program’s focus areas include clinical care, pharmaceutical and hospital automation, laboratory automation, automation of precision and regenerative medicine, point-of-care solutions, rehabilitation, assistive technologies for improved quality of life and continuity of work, and training and support for healthcare professionals.
Read more (Benefits, resources & Eligibility)
Program Benefits and Resources:
- Mentorship and Guidance: Participants receive expert mentorship from senior-level professionals from the participating companies and introductions to leaders from the robotics ecosystem, depending on their strategic objectives.
- Resource Access: Startups gain access to loaner components with design and engineering guidance.
- Networking Opportunities: Introductions to key players in the healthcare robotics space, potential customers, and strategic partners, including pitching opportunities to our VC and investors in our ecosystem.
- Strategic Medical Guidance: Cohort benefits from the strategic guidance of experienced medical professionals, ensuring their robotics solutions align with real-world healthcare needs, ethical standards, and patient safety considerations.
- Educational Workshops: Courses on critical topics, such as FDA approval processes, cybersecurity requirements, and other regulatory mandates, tailored to the cohort’s interests and strategic objectives.
- Showcase Opportunities: Each cohort startup will have the chance to present their solutions at a major robotics event in Boston as well as to the Healthcare Robotics Working Group. These live events provide booth space for product demos and a stage to pitch their solutions to a live audience, offering valuable exposure and networking opportunities.
Eligibility:
The program is open to startups with at least a working prototype at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6 or above. We welcome startups of all sizes and maturity to apply, ensuring a broad range of entrepreneurs can benefit from the program.
Cohort 4- 2025
OTSAW is a global robotics company delivering cutting-edge robotic solutions for security, healthcare, and logistics automation.
ReviMo is developing the first personal robotic mobility assistant to help individuals with mobility challenges get out of bed and live independently.
Sixdof Space enables full robotic and drone autonomy with its unique tracking solution. Using the Sixdof optical sensor technology, we provide high speed, high accuracy tracking, in all lighting conditions.
Limb Assist, developed by Subtlebotic, is the Synthetic Wearable Neurotech Robotic Motor Technology. This groundbreaking device is a lightweight, compact, and external wearable motor system designed to restore mobility for individuals who have lost motor function in their limbs. With its advanced artificial components, Limb Assist enables users to regain natural limb movement, empowering them to perform daily activities effortlessly. By providing independence and confidence, this innovative technology helps individuals re-engage with life and embrace their everyday tasks with ease.
TechNovator provides an innovative solution for wireless battery charging by using quantum technology with 95% efficiency over a distance compared with all existing technologies. Providing wireless charging to manufacturers in healthcare and other industries we have the proprietary process on transmission of energy between source of energy and and the receiver. This proves efficiency by 95% at a distance and does not generate heat or interference.
Tenomix is revolutionizing cancer diagnostics with a global platform technology that integrates robotics, ultrasound imaging, and AI to automate manual pathology workflows, enabling faster, more reliable, and efficient cancer care.
Cohort 3– 2024
Able Innovations is solving the labor-intensive task of lateral patient transfer by developing the ALTA Platform™, a robotic and automated device operated by a single operator.
AiM Medical Robotics provides a unique approach to neurosurgery that couples real-time medical imaging with a compact MRI-compatible surgical robot to account for intraoperative brain shift and ensure that surgeons hit the intended deep brain targets the first time, every time.
Coboix is a pioneering company that specializes in developing AI-powered collaborative medical robot arms for the healthcare industry.
DOPL Technologies is building a platform for telerobotic procedures to make high quality healthcare accessible to everyone.
Healthic is Latin America’s pioneering sterilization as a service (SaaS) company, revolutionizing the surgical instrument reprocessing industry across the region.
RIF Robotics is building an integrated platform that uses computer vision and off-the-shelf robotics hardware to inspect surgical instruments and assemble surgical trays in hospitals.
For 50m people with difficulty walking after strokes, REEV is making the first smart, patient-centric, motorized knee brace to recover confidence and freedom in daily movements.
Limber Technologies
Limber Technologies is enabling the 40 million Americans with impaired mobility to remain active, healthy and safe.
Cohort 2 – 2022
We are a medical device start-up based in Barcelona with the mission of enabling mobility, for everyone. We design, develop, and commercialize exoskeleton technology to empower people with disabilities, by providing better mobility and increased independence.
Acumino gives robots the skills to do any human task, anywhere. Our technology changes how robots are trained to perform skills using methods that are faster, cheaper, more scalable and more accurate. With the Acumino method, multi-functional robots in homes and hospitals become a near term reality.
Andromeda design and develop assistive companion robots for older adults capable of providing cognitive assistance to assist with the user’s daily routine. The companion robot will enhance well-being, quality of life, and independence by providing service and companionship and assisting daily life. This mainly includes cognitive and social support, mobility support, relaxation, health monitoring, and self-care support through human-robot interaction.
Maestro Surgical
1) patented Single Chip Integrated Motion Control (SCIMC) technology, a breakthrough motion control technology with superior performance in real time-ness, high synchronization, miniaturization, and high response; unlike the traditional motion control relying on x86 architecture and fieldbus protocols, SCIMC uses ARM chipset and Linux; 2) proprietary medical image processing algorithms can rapidly complete segmentation and registration using pre-op CT data and in-op X-ray data. We have fed more than 500 sets for desensitized patient data to our machine learning AI model.
This machine will make implementing automation much easier for laboratories. No complicated programming, no extended development cycles, just plug-and-play.
Unlimited Robotics simplifies the way software developers can build applications on robots, and especially on Gary – its unique service robot designed for healthcare, retailers, nursing homes and hospitality.
We are developing a real-time stereotactic navigation and robotics system for neurosurgery and neurointervention. The device is based on our proprietary real-time registration backend, which allows the registration to happen with sub-millimeter accuracy in real-time on fully awake, non-immobilized patients, by matching their CT/MRI with a 3D video feed of the their face.
Cohort 1 – 2021
Assistive Technology Development Inc.
ATDev stands for Assistive Technology Development. Our mission is to develop and commercialize best in class medical devices that shape the future of mobility.
Our team works on the development and commercialization of devices to automate processes in biology and biotechnology, to accelerate research in fields such as genetics, toxicology, development and behavioral biology, and non-clinical studies. Our patented technology was originally created to enable the mechanical sorting of zebrafish eggs.
Eureka Robotics provides software and systems to automate tasks that require simultaneously High Accuracy and High Agility (HA-HA), across industries, from optics, to electronics, to automotive.
Kinarm is a solution to the lack of precision and consistency in neurological assessment. Our Kinarm Labs give neuroscientists and clinician-scientists a “window” on brain function that is both objective and quantitative.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Is this an in-person program?
This is a mentorship program, so whether in-person meetings are possible depends on mentor and mentee locations. It is not a program requirement to meet in person. Many alumni completed the program remotely. The cohort is invited to participate in the Robotics Summit and Expo 2026 in person in May.
How long is the program?
January to May 2026.
Do you accept international companies?
Yes. We welcome global teams. Alumni have come from Spain, Australia, Greece, Korea, China, Germany, Switzerland, and more.
Is there a program fee or equity?
No fees and no equity.
What stages do you accept?
Early and growth stage. Seed through Series C are welcome if there is a clear robotics or automation component and a fit with near-term program goals.
What sectors fit best?
The Healthcare Robotics Catalyst Program has a broad scope, encompassing surgical and interventional systems, lab and pharma automation, diagnostics and imaging workflows, hospital logistics, rehabilitation and assistive devices, and enabling technologies like sensing, precision motion, and medical device cybersecurity. Cohort selection prioritizes the potential for impactful mentorship, aligning the applicant’s needs with the mentor organization’s expertise.
What does selection focus on?
The Healthcare Robotics Catalyst Program has a broad scope, encompassing surgical and interventional systems, lab and pharma automation, diagnostics and imaging workflows, hospital logistics, rehabilitation and assistive devices, and enabling technologies like sensing, precision motion, and medical device cybersecurity. Cohort selection prioritizes the potential for impactful mentorship, aligning the applicant’s needs with the mentor organization’s expertise.
What is the expected time commitment?
Participating teams should plan for bi-weekly 45-60 minute mentor sessions. The exact time commitments are mutually agreed upon by the mentor and mentee, always with the goal of achieving their jointly defined objectives. It will depend on the mentee’s needs.
How does mentor matching work?
We match each startup with one or more mentors from our mentor organizations based on their needs. Additional support from the Medical Advisory Board and our experts ecosystem can be arranged by the Mentors depending on the mentee’s needs. You can indicate mentor preferences in the application. Matches are finalized during onboarding.
What is the role of the Medical Advisory Board?
Practicing clinicians provide perspective on workflow, safety, study design, network and pilot readiness. They may join select sessions, office hours, or reviews. They are not a substitute for formal IRB or regulatory processes.
Will I get a pilot through the program?
Pilots are not guaranteed. The program helps you define a credible plan, engage stakeholders, and pursue introductions where appropriate. We will support the need that you define with your mentor.
What about IP and confidentiality?
Your IP remains yours. We encourage you to share only what is necessary. NDAs can be arranged directly with mentors or other collaborators when needed.
How many companies are selected?
A small cohort to enable depth of engagement. Exact size varies by year
Can multiple team members participate?
Yes. While a main point of contact (founder or product lead recommended) will lead the program, additional team members are encouraged to participate in relevant sessions. The mentorship program is, in essence, customized, so other team members (e.g., technical, legal, clinical advisors) will likely need to engage in specific aspects.
Do I need to be in Boston?
No. The program is designed for remote participation across various time zones. While participation in the Robotics Summit & Expo showcase at the program’s conclusion is a valuable opportunity requiring in-person attendance in Boston, travel support may be provided based on individual circumstances.
We will also invite the cohort to participate in MassRobotics Demo Days and related activities at the midpoint of the program.
What materials are required for the application?
Company overview, problem and use case, robotics integration summary, TRL level, proof-of-concept readiness, preferred mentor alignment, and a short deck. A brief demo video is optional but helpful.
When do applications open and close?
Applications open Sep 30, 2025, and close Dec 1, 2025. Evaluation and interviews run Dec 1 to Dec 15. The cohort is announced in early January.
Who should I contact with questions?
Email: info@massrobotics.org
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