Insider Brief
- XRlabs raised $8.4 million in seed funding led by Playground Global to expand its AI-powered Surgical Intelligence platform, which analyzes surgical data in real time and works with existing operating-room equipment.
- The company said its software has been used in more than 100 surgical cases across three continents and can combine live surgical video, navigation data and preoperative CT and MRI images into a single view.
- XRlabs plans to use the funding to expand its engineering and clinical teams, advance regulatory work in the U.K., Europe and the U.S., and build clinical evidence, while Omar Ishrak joins as board chair.
XRlabs has raised $8.4 million in seed funding led by Playground Global to develop and deploy an AI platform that analyzes surgical data in real time while working with equipment already used in operating rooms.
According to the startup, Eka Ventures also participated in the round and XRlabs also received a compute allocation from the U.K. AI Research Resource, the government-backed national AI computing infrastructure. The funding will go toward expanding its engineering and clinical teams, advancing the platform through regulatory processes in the U.K., Europe and the U.S., along with building clinical evidence across partner institutions on three continents.
The London-based company, which also has an office in Palo Alto, develops software that acts as an external AI layer for surgical systems. Its platform uses computer vision and deep learning to analyze live surgical video and combine it with information from other systems during an operation.
“Our conviction is that the operating room is the next frontier for physical AI,” neurosurgeon, founder and CEO Dr. Haddad said in the announcement. “Surgery generates extraordinary data, yet almost none of it becomes intelligence in the moments that matter most. This financing lets us change that at scale, moving Surgical Intelligence from landmark first cases to foundational infrastructure in every operating room.”
XRlabs said its software has already been used in several early clinical and research applications, including more than 100 surgical cases across three continents. The platform is designed to work across different devices rather than require hospitals to replace existing equipment.
The system can run with 4K 3D surgical scopes and connect with navigation systems. It combines live surgical video, navigation data and preoperative CT and MRI images into a single view intended to give surgical teams more information about what is happening during a procedure.
Surgical Intelligence
The company calls the approach Surgical Intelligence and describes the software as an AI co-pilot for operating-room teams. Rather than controlling a single piece of equipment, the platform is intended to connect information from different systems and provide real-time assistance during surgery.
Among them, XRlabs reported a first-in-human use of physical AI in cranial neurosurgery under research conditions with the ORBEYE 4K 3D exoscope. The company also said its technology was used to design patient-specific implants for the separation of craniopagus twins in work with U.K. charity Gemini Untwined.
XRlabs also was named a global Nvidia robotics partner and is using Nvidia Jetson Thor and Isaac for Healthcare technology for functions including low-latency perception, surgical-tool tracking and automation based on user intent, according to the company. XRlabs SIM, its system for AI and extended-reality surgical planning, was included among TIME’s Best Inventions of 2025.
Omar Ishrak Joins Board
Alongside the financing, XRlabs announced that Omar Ishrak has joined as chair of its board. Ishrak served as Medtronic chairman and chief executive from 2011 to 2020, previously chaired Intel’s board and currently serves on the boards of Amgen and Cleveland Clinic.
