Laparoscopic surgical robots are hailed as the "crown jewel of surgery," using algorithms to eliminate surgeon hand tremors, providing 4K high-definition 3D images, and enhancing surgical precision to the sub-millimeter level, while significantly shortening the learning curve for surgeons, making complex minimally invasive surgeries more replicable.
Clinical data shows that in complex fields such as liver resection and rectal cancer surgery, robot-assisted surgery demonstrates statistically significant advantages in reducing blood loss, lowering complication rates, and shortening hospital stays. For example, research published by Columbia University in 2025 indicates that the "textbook outcome" achievement rate for patients undergoing robotic liver resection was as high as 85%, significantly surpassing the 64% for open surgery, with lower overall hospitalization costs.
For a long time, the global laparoscopic robot market was dominated by Intuitive Surgical. By the end of 2025, the global cumulative installed base of da Vinci systems exceeded 11,000 units, with cumulative surgeries surpassing 20 million. Its 2025 revenue broke through the $10 billion mark, with consumables and service revenue accounting for over 75%, forming a solid commercial loop of "equipment sales + consumable repurchase + service fees."
However, this unipolar dominance is being disrupted, especially in the Chinese market, where the collective rise of domestic manufacturers is reshaping the competitive landscape. In 2025, the number of laparoscopic surgical robots awarded in bids for domestic public hospitals reached 90 units, with domestic brands winning a combined 47 units, accounting for over 50% for the first time, marking the entry of domestic substitution into a substantive phase. Representatives of the domestic first tier, such as MicroPort MedBot and Edge Medical-B (ASX: 02675), have not only achieved a leap from following to running alongside in technology but have also taken the lead in initiating global expansion, competing directly with Intuitive Surgical in overseas markets.
Breaking Through with Differentiated Innovation: The World's First Single/Multi-Port Integrated Laparoscopic Surgical Robot
Taking Edge Medical-B (ASX: 02675) as an example, the company was founded in Shenzhen in 2017. At that time, the global surgical robot market was monopolized by Intuitive Surgical. Since the first da Vinci system entered China in 2006, leveraging first-mover advantages and technological barriers, da Vinci had long occupied over 90% of the domestic market share.
This led to persistently high procurement costs, with a single da Vinci system priced over 20 million yuan, plus annual maintenance fees of several million yuan and expensive proprietary consumables, making it unaffordable for the vast majority of primary and secondary hospitals. Simultaneously, due to the high cost of equipment, da Vinci systems were concentrated in top-tier tertiary hospitals in first-tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, leaving central, western regions, and primary hospitals largely unequipped, exacerbating the uneven distribution of quality medical resources.
Against this backdrop, numerous domestic surgical robot manufacturers, including Edge Medical-B (ASX: 02675), emerged. From its inception, the company established a development strategy of independent innovation and domestic substitution, committed to breaking the monopoly of international giants and building a high-end surgical robot brand of China's own.
Unlike some domestic manufacturers following an imitative path, Edge Medical-B (ASX: 02675) chose the path of differentiated innovation, striving to form its own characteristics and advantages in product design and technical performance. After five years of dedicated R&D, in December 2022, the company's first product, the MP1000 multi-port laparoscopic surgical robot, received NMPA approval, becoming the second domestic four-arm laparoscopic surgical robot. This product achieved internationally advanced performance levels, with a price only 60%-70% of the da Vinci system, offering high cost-effectiveness.
In November 2023, the SP1000 single-port laparoscopic surgical robot received NMPA approval, making Edge Medical-B (ASX: 02675) the first domestic company to simultaneously possess regulatory approvals for both multi-port and single-port laparoscopic surgical robots, breaking da Vinci's exclusive monopoly in the single-port domain.
From a financial perspective, 2025 was a breakout year for Edge Medical-B (ASX: 02675). Full-year operating revenue reached 456 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 184.83%; loss attributable to shareholders was -89 million yuan, a reduction of 59.45% year-on-year; adjusted net loss was -21 million yuan, a reduction of 88.51% year-on-year, approaching the breakeven point. The company's global cumulative orders reached 119 units, with cumulative installations of 100 units, of which 54 were overseas, surpassing domestic installations for the first time.
Today, Edge Medical-B (ASX: 02675) is recognized alongside MicroPort MedBot and Sizhe Rui as one of the three giants of domestic laparoscopic robots. The company's rapid development has gained widespread recognition from the capital market. As of the end of May 2026, the market capitalization of Edge Medical-B (ASX: 02675) exceeded 15 billion Hong Kong dollars, making it one of the leading enterprises in the domestic surgical robot industry.
In March 2026, Edge Medical-B (ASX: 02675)'s MSP2000 single/multi-port integrated laparoscopic surgical robot received NMPA approval. This is the world's first approved single/multi-port integrated laparoscopic surgical robot, achieving a leap from following to leading, injecting strong momentum into domestic substitution.
Traditional multi-port and single-port surgical robots are two independent systems. If a hospital wants to perform both multi-port and single-port surgeries, it needs to purchase two separate sets of equipment, resulting in high investment costs, large operating room space occupation, and low equipment utilization. The MSP2000 system innovatively solves this problem by integrating multi-port and single-port surgical robots into a unified technology platform, allowing flexible switching between multi-port and single-port modes by changing different surgical arms and instruments.
For hospitals, purchasing just one system enables the performance of all types of laparoscopic robotic surgeries, significantly reducing procurement and operational costs. This may accelerate the adoption of surgical robots in primary hospitals and emerging markets, opening up the lower-tier market. For domestic substitution, the significance of MSP2000 is particularly profound. It not only has a price advantage but also achieves technological superiority over international giants. Currently, international manufacturers like Intuitive Surgical and CMR Surgical have not launched similar products, placing Edge Medical-B (ASX: 02675) in a globally leading position in this field.
Global Expansion Accelerates: Overseas Revenue Exceeds Domestic for First Time
While vigorously promoting domestic substitution, Edge Medical-B (ASX: 02675) is also actively expanding into overseas markets. 2025 marked the first year of the company's international expansion. Its overseas business achieved explosive growth, becoming the main driver of revenue growth. Similar to MicroPort MedBot, Edge Medical-B (ASX: 02675) has adopted a global development strategy, actively exploring overseas markets.
In March 2025, the MP1000 multi-port laparoscopic surgical robot obtained CE certification; in October 2025, both the SP1000 single-port laparoscopic surgical robot and the MSP2000 single/multi-port integrated laparoscopic surgical robot simultaneously received CE certification. Edge Medical-B (ASX: 02675) became the first domestic company to simultaneously possess CE certification for multi-port, single-port, and single/multi-port integrated laparoscopic robots.
The rapid acquisition of CE certification opened the door to the European market for Edge Medical-B (ASX: 02675). By the end of 2025, the company had obtained MP1000 registration approvals in 22 overseas jurisdictions across Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, and South America, covering a total of 55 countries and regions.
In terms of commercialization, Edge Medical-B (ASX: 02675) first entered the European and Middle Eastern markets, then gradually expanded to other regions. The company established local sales and service teams overseas, building deep cooperative relationships with local distributors and hospitals. In 2025, the company secured 92 new global orders, bringing cumulative orders to 119 units; 100 robots were cumulatively installed/delivered globally, with 46 in China and 54 overseas, marking the first time overseas installations exceeded domestic ones. Overseas business revenue reached 272 million yuan, accounting for 59.71% of total revenue.
In the European market, products from Edge Medical-B (ASX: 02675) have been installed in countries including Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and Poland, completing hundreds of surgeries. The company established training centers in Eastern and Southern Europe to provide systematic training and technical support for local doctors. In the Middle Eastern market, the company signed cooperation agreements with large medical groups in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and other countries, securing batch orders.
In the domestic market, the company actively participates in public hospital bidding, continuously expanding its market share. In 2025, Edge Medical-B (ASX: 02675) won bids for 16 units in domestic public hospital tenders, with a total contract value of 174 million yuan and an average unit price of 14.53 million yuan, ranking second among domestic manufacturers, only behind MicroPort MedBot.
In recent years, the Chinese government has introduced a series of policies supporting the development of innovative medical devices, creating a favorable environment for surgical robots. The issuance of the National Healthcare Security Administration's "Project Guide" clarified fee standards for surgical robots, rationalizing the commercialization pathway. The 14th Five-Year Plan period targets 559 units for laparoscopic surgical systems, providing a broad market space for domestic surgical robots.
Currently, the penetration rate of laparoscopic surgical robots in China is only 0.7%, while in the United States it has reached 21.9%, indicating a significant gap. According to predictions, the market size for laparoscopic surgical robots in China from 2024 to 2030 is expected to expand rapidly at a compound annual growth rate of 29.29%, potentially reaching 19.552 billion yuan by 2030.
With the acceleration of domestic substitution, the market share of domestic manufacturers will continue to increase. Although the prospects for domestic substitution are broad, domestic manufacturers like Edge Medical-B (ASX: 02675) also face challenges, including relatively limited clinical data compared to Intuitive Surgical's cumulative 20 million surgeries, difficulty in changing physician usage habits, and unresolved fundamental issues regarding the linkage between DRG payment and robotic surgery fees. In the future, domestic manufacturers still need to confront these risks and challenges, persist in technological innovation, improve the commercial loop, deepen global expansion, and strengthen industry collaboration to stand out in the fierce market competition.
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