Sonder Capital, Backed by Hospitals, Fuels AI-Robotic Surgery's Next Wave

SAN CARLOS, CA – March 24, 2026 – Healthcare venture firm Sonder Capital announced today the closing of its second fund, Futures II, signaling a major investment push into the next generation of medical technology. In a significant move that underscores a deepening alliance between finance and frontline care, the fund includes participation from two of the nation's leading healthcare systems, Mayo Clinic and Sutter Health.

The fund will target companies developing AI-enabled medical robotics and minimally invasive therapies, technologies poised to create entirely new models for patient care. This strategic collaboration aims to bridge the gap between innovation and clinical implementation, ensuring new technologies are not only groundbreaking but also practical and impactful.

"Through our second fund we'll continue enabling the next wave of companies and healthcare technologies reshaping medicine," said Kate Garrett, Managing Partner at Sonder Capital, in a statement. "And through our collaboration with Mayo Clinic and Sutter Health, we're strengthening our ability to support portfolio companies with insights from frontline care delivery—helping founders ensure innovation directly translates into better patient care."

A New Power Play: When Hospitals Become VCs

The participation of Mayo Clinic and Sutter Health is more than a simple financial endorsement; it represents a pivotal trend where healthcare providers are moving from being passive consumers of technology to active partners in its creation. This strategic shift allows these institutions to directly influence the development of tools that address their most pressing clinical and operational needs.

Both health systems have established initiatives to foster innovation. Mayo Clinic Ventures, its corporate venture arm, has a long history of investing in health tech to advance patient care and commercialize internal intellectual property. Similarly, Sutter Health, Northern California's largest health system, has invested in venture funds and recently launched an innovation center in San Francisco to collaborate with early-stage startups, with a particular focus on artificial intelligence and digital tools that extend care into patients' homes.

This model creates a powerful symbiotic relationship. For startups in Sonder Capital's portfolio, the partnership provides an invaluable competitive edge: direct access to world-class clinical expertise, real-world environments for product testing and validation, and a clearer pathway to market adoption. For the health systems, it offers a first look at disruptive technologies, a chance to co-develop solutions tailored to their workflows, and an opportunity to diversify revenue streams beyond traditional patient care. This alignment aims to de-risk investments and accelerate the often-lengthy cycle of bringing a medical device from concept to bedside.

The Next Chapter in Robotic Medicine

Futures II is anchored by a specific and ambitious thesis: to back companies creating new standards of care in "distributed settings." This vision involves moving complex medical procedures out of the centralized, high-cost environment of the hospital operating room and into more accessible locations, including outpatient clinics and even the home. The key enablers of this shift are AI-enabled robotics and advanced minimally invasive therapies.

The global medical robotics market, valued at nearly $15 billion in 2023, is projected to surge to over $57 billion by 2032, driven by an aging population and persistent demand for less invasive surgical options. Sonder Capital is betting that the integration of artificial intelligence is the catalyst for the next leap forward.

"Medical robotics has already transformed what's possible in the operating room—and we're now entering the next chapter," noted Dr. Fred Moll, Founding Partner at Sonder Capital and a luminary in the field. "The addition of AI is unlocking new levels of performance and automation across care pathways, accelerating a revolution that will benefit patients, clinicians, and health systems alike, around the world."

This "next chapter" includes surgical robots with enhanced precision guided by real-time data analysis, autonomous diagnostic tools that can speed up triage, and telepresence robots that allow specialists to consult on cases from anywhere in the world. While the opportunities are immense, the path to widespread adoption involves navigating significant challenges, including the high cost of implementation, stringent regulatory hurdles from bodies like the FDA, and growing cybersecurity risks for connected medical devices.

The Legacy Forging the Future

Sonder Capital's confidence in navigating this complex landscape stems directly from the unparalleled track record of its leadership. Co-founder Dr. Fred Moll is widely regarded as the "father of robotic surgery" for his foundational role in creating the da Vinci Surgical System as the co-founder of Intuitive Surgical. The da Vinci system has become the dominant platform for robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery worldwide.

Moll's success didn't stop there. He later founded Auris Health, which developed the Monarch platform for robotic bronchoscopy. Johnson & Johnson acquired Auris in 2019 for over $3 billion, one of the largest private medical device acquisitions in history. This history of creating, scaling, and successfully exiting category-defining companies provides Sonder Capital with a proven blueprint for success.

This legacy of innovation, combined with the operational expertise of co-founder Jay Watkins and the firm's broader team, creates a powerful draw for the most promising entrepreneurs in the field. It also provides a deep well of experience for guiding portfolio companies through the challenges of product development, regulatory approval, and commercialization. The firm’s strategy is not just to provide capital, but to actively build companies capable of transforming healthcare on a global scale. By combining this deep-seated industry expertise with the clinical power of its new hospital partners, Sonder Capital's Futures II fund is positioned to do more than just invest in the future of medicine—it is actively constructing it.