[Edaily Reporter Hong Ju-yeon ] While robot errors on the factory floor result in defective products, errors in the operating room are a matter of life and death. This is why the operating room stands as the final gateway—the one with the highest technological barriers—in the era of “Physical AI,” where artificial intelligence (AI) takes on a physical form to control the real world. With the global surgical robot market projected to reach approximately $38.4 billion (57.76 trillion won) by 2034, growing at an average annual rate of 17.2%, Korean medical robotics companies are refusing to back down at this final gate and are throwing down the gauntlet one after another.

AI Steps Off the Screen… Why Is the Operating Room the “Final Gateway”?

Generative AI, which once remained confined to on-screen intelligence by creating text and images, is now stepping out into the physical world. Amid an explosion of global interest in robotics following the recent visit to South Korea by Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, the center of gravity for Korea’s robotics industry is also shifting rapidly. The market, once dominated by large corporations such as HyundaiMotor and Doosan Robotics, is expanding beyond humanoid and wearable robots to include “vertical physical AI” startups that solve problems in specific industries. This is evidenced by the influx of substantial capital, such as Holiday Robotics’ launch of a large-scale Series A funding round and WiRobotics’ raising of 95 billion won in Series B funding.

The medical and healthcare sector is undoubtedly the battleground where this Physical AI is driving the most dramatic innovations. This is because AI has moved beyond simple image interpretation to a stage where it directly controls medical devices to assist in surgeries and procedures. Given the complex environment inside the human body, this requires a level of technical sophistication—including image recognition, precision control, and safety logic—that is overwhelmingly higher than that of industrial robots. While robots on the factory floor compete on efficiency, those in the operating room must prove the very sophistication of the technology itself. This is why the operating room serves as the ultimate test of physical AI’s technical maturity.

From Surgical Platforms to Motorized Endoscopes… K-Medical Robots Knocking on the Global Door

Domestic medical physical AI companies are also one after another throwing their hats into the ring on the global stage. “Revo-i,” a domestically developed laparoscopic surgical robot from meerecompany Incorporated(049950) —a company specializing in ultra-precision equipment—is rapidly expanding its reach both domestically and internationally. Revo-i received approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in 2017 and has since been adopted by general hospitals and tertiary-level medical institutions, including the National Cancer Center in 2021 and Yonsei University Severance Hospital in 2023. Globally, exports are expanding to countries such as Russia, Mongolia, and Paraguay.

The company’s overseas strategy goes beyond simply exporting equipment to focus on expanding adoption through education. By opening a robotic surgery center in Tunisia, facilitating the adoption of Revo-i at the Mongolian National Cancer Center following VR simulator-based training, and pursuing the establishment of a training center in Paraguay, the company is expanding its global hubs for training medical professionals while building a dissemination model that combines surgeon training with technical support. At the same time, meerecompany Incorporated plans to use a 4.9 billion won government-funded R&D project to enhance surgical situation awareness and assistance functions by integrating Revo-i surgical data with iA, Inc. by 2029, and to validate the technology in real surgical environments in collaboration with the National Cancer Center.

#LivsMed Inc., which has demonstrated its technological capabilities with the multi-joint laparoscopic surgical instrument “Artessential,” announced its leap toward becoming an integrated surgical platform last May by unveiling its next-generation surgical robot, “STARK.” Based on proprietary “in-plane” pin-joint technology—which differs from Intuitive Surgical’s Da Vinci patents—STARK achieves a 90-degree multi-joint range of motion, wider than that of the Da Vinci (60 degrees). With a “one-cart, two-arm” configuration—featuring two robotic arms mounted on a single cart—it reduces the space required by about half compared to existing four-cart systems and holds over 600 related domestic and international patents.

In particular, Stark positions itself as a “Native Telesurgery” surgical robot, having validated remote operation from the development stage. Last July, the company successfully demonstrated a remote surgery on a large animal, spanning a distance of over 3,000 km between California and Chicago. Following approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, LivsMed Inc. plans to launch the product in South Korea by the end of this year, followed by sequential entries into the Japanese market in 2027 and the U.S. market in 2028. The company’s vision is to revolutionize the cost structure—where consumables and services average $4,000 per procedure—and target the global market of 27 million surgeries that are currently not served by robotic technology. Going a step further, LivsMed Inc. has also unveiled a vision to digitize the skilled techniques of domestic medical professionals using data accumulated during Stark surgeries and expand into physical AI capable of autonomous surgery.

This move marks a full-scale challenge to the surgical robotics market currently dominated by Intuitive Surgical in the U.S. Given that Intuitive Surgical’s market capitalization on the Nasdaq is approximately 225 trillion won, there are projections that LivsMed Inc. could also reach a market capitalization of 100 trillion won in the long term.

MediinTech, an AI medical robotics startup, is set to shake up the industry with its “Intion S,” which motorizes the endoscope hardware itself—a device that previously relied entirely on the manual dexterity of medical staff. With conventional mechanical endoscopes, where doctors manually pull a wire to maneuver the device, even if AI identifies the location of a lesion, the doctor cannot directly control the direction of the scope; however, Mediintech was able to integrate physical AI onto a hardware foundation built on motorization.

The Intion S was launched last month, and the company expects to begin generating significant revenue starting this year. Since its founding, MediInTech has secured growth funding through a dual approach of private investment and national R&D projects. In 2021, the company was selected as the lead institution for the Inter-ministerial Full-Life-Cycle Medical Device R&D Project and developed a motorized endoscope through a 9.5 billion won project. Subsequently, in April of this year, it was again selected as the lead institution for the follow-up Inter-ministerial Advanced Medical Device R&D Project, securing an additional 22.8 billion won in funding. In the second-phase project—involving Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul National University, the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI), and the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST)—the company is overseeing the development of an intelligent motorized robotic endoscope platform. The scope of research is expanding beyond gastrointestinal endoscopes to include specialized endoscopes such as duodenoscopes and choledochoscopes, as well as ultra-compact multi-joint surgical instruments.

The company has also begun to expand its global presence in earnest. Mediintech’s motorized endoscope, “Intion S”—which directly challenges the global flexible endoscope market, where Japanese companies hold over 95% of the market share—is already being used in Mongolia and the Philippines, and has received regulatory approval in Thailand and Indonesia. The company is also preparing for FDA certification to enter the U.S. market, its largest potential market. Just as Intuitive Surgical’s Da Vinci has become the standard for rigid surgical robots, the company’s vision is to claim that same position in the flexible endoscope-based surgical robot platform. Lee Chi-won, CEO of Mediintech, stated with confidence, “In the flexible endoscope market, which is firmly dominated by Japanese companies, our Physical AI technology—which combines AI with hardware motorization—is a powerful weapon that will instantly change the rules of the game.”

The Expanding Medical Robotics Market… Opportunities and Challenges for Korea with Its ‘Three-Pronged Approach’

Behind the challenges facing K-medical robots lies the market’s steep growth trajectory. According to the report “Patent Trends Related to Precision Control of Surgical Robots” published by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute last May, the global surgical robot market is projected to grow more than fourfold, from approximately $9.2 billion (13.84 trillion won) in 2025 to about $38.4 billion (57.76 trillion won) in 2034. Growing demand for minimally invasive surgery, the need for improved surgical accuracy, and advancements in technologies integrating imaging, sensors, and control systems are driving this market expansion. In Korea as well, there is a growing trend toward adopting robotic technology across various fields, including laparoscopic surgical robots, orthopedics, neurosurgery, endoscopy, and interventional radiology.

Recently, surgical robots have evolved beyond systems centered on manipulation devices to become intelligent platforms that integrate imaging, sensors, AI, and control algorithms. Consequently, the focus of core competitiveness is shifting toward “precision control” technology—which translates medical staff maneuvers into stable surgical movements through position and speed control, force control, tremor compensation, and motion scaling. In essence, foundational technologies that directly impact surgical accuracy and safety are now determining product competitiveness. The industry recognizes that while Intuitive Surgical’s dominance—led by the Da Vinci surgical robot—was unshakable during the era when competition centered on hardware sophistication, the current phase—where AI and precision control are rewriting the rules of the game—opens up opportunities for latecomers to shake up the market.

The CEO of a startup developing medical robots explained, “South Korea possesses conditions that are ideally suited for the robotics and AI industries.” He added, “In addition to the three key factors—a solid manufacturing base, world-class clinical infrastructure, and innovative robot control technology—the surgical skills of South Korean surgeons, who perform thousands of highly complex surgeries annually, can serve as a primary data source for AI training in and of themselves.”