Ireland-based Medical Devices giant Medtronic announced this week that it will acquire Digital Surgery, a privately-held pioneer in surgical artificial intelligence, data and analytics, and digital education and training. The purchase aims to strengthen its robot-assisted surgical platform and its broader portfolio.

Digital Surgery’s CEO & co-founder Dr. Jean Nehme also announced the news, stating that they’ve decided to join forces with the world’s largest medical technology company and that Digital Surgery became part of Medtronic, a global leader in medical technology, services and solutions.

Digital Surgery is a British start-up founded by Dr. Jean Nehme and Dr. Andre Chow and aimed at shaping the future of surgery by building a digital ecosystem that sits at the intersection of surgical expertise and technology.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, but the Telegraph reported that the deal was in excess of $300m (£229m).

That’s pretty amazing news!

“Joining Medtronic creates an incredible opportunity to realize the promise of reducing unwarranted variability in surgery,” said Nehme, CEO of Digital Surgery. “We have always believed in computational power and data as two central drivers of consistency and quality in surgery. Computational power has impacted our lives in so many ways, and within surgery, it is almost absent.”

“By joining forces with Medtronic, we will finally apply computing and AI to surgery on a meaningful scale with a goal of helping more patients in more places benefit from consistently high-quality surgical care,” he said.