Medtronic announced on September 1, 2026 a strategic partnership with Cornerstone Robotics built around an approximately $700 million investment that includes rights to distribute Cornerstone’s Sentire surgical system in select markets outside the United States where the system is market approved.
Under the arrangement, Medtronic said it will distribute Sentire alongside its Hugo robotic-assisted surgery system, known as the Hugo RAS system, placing the two platforms inside its broader connected surgical ecosystem. Medtronic stated that the pairing is intended to give surgeons and health systems more choice and flexible solutions suited to differing clinical settings, procedural needs, and economic models. Cornerstone Robotics, which is founded and headquartered in Hong Kong, framed the agreement in its own announcement as an investment and distribution deal pairing its technology with Medtronic’s global presence.
Two Robotic Platforms Under One Portfolio
Medtronic described the combined offering as a multi-portfolio approach anchored by the Hugo RAS system and expanded by Sentire. The Hugo system is a modular, multi-quadrant platform designed for a broad range of soft-tissue surgical procedures. It combines wristed instruments, 3D visualization, and Medtronic’s Touch Surgery ecosystem, which includes dedicated support for robotics program optimization, service, and training.
The Sentire system uses what Cornerstone describes as an immersive console architecture with dual-console capability, offering a configuration Medtronic characterized as familiar and suited to varying surgeon preferences and clinical needs. Cornerstone developed Sentire entirely in-house, and the company says its full-stack R&D model spans core hardware, control software, advanced algorithms, and proprietary imaging and energy platforms, which it describes as giving it substantial control over product integration, quality, and supply chain resilience.
Matt Anderson, senior vice president and president of Medtronic’s Surgical business, tied the deal to the company’s minimally invasive surgery strategy. “Surgeons, health systems and markets have varying needs and preferences, which is why we are investing across robotic platforms, digital tools and platform-enhancing technologies,” Anderson said, adding that Medtronic will be the only company offering this two-platform portfolio combined with its surgical ecosystem.
Regulatory Status of Both Systems
The Hugo RAS system is in use in more than 35 countries across six continents, including the United States, where Medtronic said it received FDA clearance within the last year. The company reported that procedure growth for Hugo is currently more than two times the growth rate of the robotic surgery market, and said it expects total procedures to exceed 50,000 globally by the end of its fiscal year.
Sentire’s approvals cover three major markets. Cornerstone received approval from China’s National Medical Products Administration in 2024, then in May 2026 secured CE Mark in the European Union and approval from Singapore’s Health Sciences Authority. The EU and Singapore clearances cover minimally invasive general, gynecologic, thoracic, and urologic surgical procedures. The system has completed multi-specialty clinical trials, according to the company.
Medtronic said it will continue developing the Hugo platform in parallel, with planned work spanning ongoing software upgrades, real-time artificial intelligence across its digital ecosystem, integrated stapling, expanded instrumentation, and additional clinical indications.
Deal Structure and Advisors
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC served as exclusive financial advisor to Medtronic, with Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP acting as lead legal counsel. Kirkland & Ellis and Global Law Office acted as legal counsel to Cornerstone Robotics.
Both companies pointed to low penetration of robotic-assisted surgery as the context for the deal, stating that global adoption remains in the single digits. In Cornerstone’s announcement, founder and CEO Professor Kwok Wai Samuel Au described a gap between growing demand for minimally invasive surgery and the availability of robotic-assisted surgical technologies. “Our partnership with Medtronic positions us to further accelerate and scale our work to bring the benefits of robotic-assisted surgery to more surgeons and patients around the world,” Au said.
Cornerstone operates three global R&D hubs and six business centers worldwide and has established a 30,000-square-meter manufacturing facility in China. The company completed an oversubscribed financing round of approximately $200 million in November 2025, per its earlier announcement history, and has been expanding its clinical and commercial footprint in Europe and Asia through 2026.
Medtronic, headquartered in Galway, Ireland, employs more than 95,000 people across more than 150 countries. The company said the partnership is another step in strengthening its connected surgical ecosystem, and that it continues to invest across that ecosystem to expand access to robotic-assisted solutions for operating rooms around the world. Distribution of Sentire under the agreement will proceed in select non-U.S. markets where the system holds market approval.
