Insider Brief
- Soft robotics startup morph has emerged from stealth with backing from investors including 8VC, Pharrell Williams, Copper, Harvey Spevak, Qubit Health Capital, Valia Ventures and Blue Lion as it develops adaptive robotic materials it calls “soft robotic cells.”
- Founded by former Digital Surgery CEO Jean Nehme, the company is developing flexible, sensor-enabled robotic components that can be embedded directly into products, allowing them to sense, adapt and respond to human movement and environmental conditions in real time.
- morph said its initial applications will focus on human performance, mobility and injury prevention before expanding into healthcare, automotive and industrial safety, with a business model centered on helping manufacturers integrate soft robotics technology into commercial products.
Soft robotics startup morph announced it has emerged from stealth with backing from investors including 8VC, Pharrell Williams, Copper, Equinox Chairman Harvey Spevak, Qubit Health Capital, Valia Ventures and Blue Lion as it looks to commercialize a new category of adaptive robotic materials.
Founded by former reconstructive surgeon and Digital Surgery founder Jean Nehme, the company said it is developing flexible, sensor-enabled robotic components designed to be embedded directly into products, what it calls “soft robotic cells.”.According to morph, the technology allows products to sense, adapt and respond to human movement and environmental conditions in real time.
“We have designed and built a very rigid and static world, but since the beginning nature has shown us softness and dynamism,” Nehme said in the announcement. “With our platform, we can build a new generation of products embedded with soft robotic cells that adapt in real time to support natural movement. We’re designing soft robotic cells to sit at the interface of human robotic interaction across multiple industries.”
The company stressed hardware is a key part of physical AI and that it combines robotics, sensing and adaptive control within deformable materials rather than relying solely on software. morph said the approach could enable products that adjust their shape, stiffness or behavior based on user needs and surrounding conditions.
Nehme founded the company after working in both medicine and artificial intelligence. Before launching morph, he founded surgical AI company Digital Surgery, which was acquired by Medtronic in 2020. According to the company, his experience in reconstructive surgery influenced the design of the platform, which draws inspiration from the flexibility and adaptability found in biological systems.
morph said its platform allows developers to program robotic cell behaviors, simulate real-world conditions and rapidly test new designs before deployment. By combining reinforcement learning with physics-based simulation, the company aims to accelerate the path from concept to commercial product while maintaining safety and performance standards.
The company indicated it is developing a range of products built around its soft robotic cells, with initial applications focused on human performance, mobility and injury prevention. The technology replaces static materials with adaptive systems that can respond to human movement and changing conditions in real time.
Over time, morph plans to expand the platform into healthcare, automotive and industrial safety applications through partnerships with manufacturers and other industry customers. The company said its strategy is to serve as a technology, design and manufacturing partner, helping businesses incorporate soft robotics into their products.
Image credit: morph
