Singapore firm bags global award for surgical robotics

SINGAPORE – With the help of artificial intelligence (AI) and image processing, a local start-up can map critical details of human anatomy and plot a safe path for surgeons to access small and hard-to-reach tumours.

For this, Singapore-based surgical robotics firm NDR Medical Technology bagged second prize and US$200,000 (S$269,000) at the Entrepreneurship World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday, in a field of over 30,000 companies from around the world.

NDR’s chief executive and co-founder Alan Goh, 43, told The Straits Times: “The award is a recognition of our team’s hard work.

“This will provide more exposure for the start-up, and attract more partners and venture capital... in our journey of building a Singapore-made surgical robot that potentially could enhance the safety of interventional procedures.”

The company, started eight years ago, has shareholders including SGInnovate and ST Engineering Ventures.

Singapore investor and venture builder Jayren Teo, 27, who was one of the judges, called what NDR does “the future of healthcare”.

“Imagine a world where surgical procedures are safe and precise, where margins of error are reduced,” he said.

“The doctors’ performance is not limited by experience and their well-being, but assisted by surgical robots to make better assessments and decisions, with in-depth patient health data provided by AI-powered robots.”

The Entrepreneurship World Cup is co-hosted by the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) and Monsha’at – the Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority in Saudi Arabia.

The top 100 competitors were invited to pitch their start-ups to a panel of international judges at the global finals after several qualifying rounds. The 2023 competition was held from last Friday to Sunday at Biban 23, the largest event for entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises in Saudi Arabia.

Since its launch in 2019, the competition has engaged more than 400,000 entrepreneurs from 200 countries, and connected founders with more than US$4 million in cash prizes and another US$266 million worth of perks and free support and services.

“These founders and their companies are disrupting their industries and testing big ideas with potential to transform our world,” said GEN president Jonathan Ortmans.

“GEN is proud to co-host the Entrepreneurship World Cup for the fourth year, giving promising companies the opportunity to connect to global markets and investment.”

Competitors that emerged among the global top 40 in this year’s Entrepreneurship World Cup were plant-based food company The Leaf Protein, and NurtureRN, a Singapore firm that helps the international nursing community.

The Saudi White Helmet company, which provides smart construction management services, took first place.

In 2020, Singapore’s TurtleTree Lab clinched the first prize at the competition

for its methods of making milk without the need for animals.