Osso VR snagged $66 million in a series C funding round led by Oak HC/FT for its virtual reality surgical training tech, the company announced Thursday.
With 120 high-fidelity training modules available and 50 more in production, the startup's platform allows surgeons to practice procedures either independently or with a team before entering the operating room.
The on-demand capabilities support training across more than 10 specialties and for all skill levels, “from bread and butter cases to once-in-a-career unicorns,” according to the company’s website.
Surgeons may also receive coaching during the simulated sessions and assessments to measure their proficiency and track their progress over time.
Along with Oak HC/FT, Signalfire, GSR Ventures, Tiger Global Management and Kaiser Permanente Ventures also participated in the round.
“The future at Osso VR is incredibly bright. Each step of the way, we’ve stayed true to our mission to democratize healthcare and seen the results that our platform brings to surgical training and assessment,” said Justin Barad, M.D., Osso VR co-founder and CEO. “This round of investment supports the next step of our journey to provide access to all healthcare professionals. I couldn’t be more excited to take this next step with such a talented, passionate team.”
Founded in 2016, the San Francisco-based startup has raised $136 million to date.
Osso VR’s platform boasts the ability to allow surgeons to train with the latest innovations in medical devices, according to the company,
The startup has partnered with medical device companies including Johnson & Johnson, Stryker, Zimmer Biomet and Smith + Nephew.
“Oak HC/FT is continuously seeking new opportunities to support innovative companies impacting the healthcare industry in a meaningful way,” said Vig Chandramouli, partner at Oak HC/FT in a statement. “Osso VR is well-positioned to become the gold standard for all surgical training and continuing education, and we’re thrilled to work alongside this impassioned and committed team.”
The company plans to use the funds to continue scaling its platform and hiring talent that can help the startup expand its tech into additional specialties.
The startup has more than 150 employees and plans to increase its numbers “exponentially” over the coming year.
The rapid adoption of telehealth solutions prompted by the pandemic accelerated development of virtual and augmented reality technologies for healthcare.
Most of those solutions have focused on using virtual reality to democratize care access to patients. Latus Health is currently developing a virtual clinic that it hopes will treat one million patients a day, with a virtual reality mental health clinic to launch later this year.
AppliedVR, a startup that creates virtual reality therapeutics for pain management, picked up $36 million in November.
Still, few reimbursement pathways exist for the use of virtual reality in healthcare settings, particularly for underserved patient populations, a hurdle that companies will have to collaborate with payers to overcome in order to advance their health equity goals.