Waterloo-based startup Cobionix has raised US$3 million to expand access to its autonomous medical robot, CODI®, with support from major investors including TitletownTech, a U.S. venture capital firm backed by Microsoft and the Green Bay Packers.

“It feels really good,” said Matthew Sefati, CEO at Cobionix. “As a small Canadian company, we’re up against large incumbents that have been in the industry for a long time. But with advancements in robotics and artificial intelligence (AI), we feel that we have a fighting chance to deploy this technology.”

The funding will help Cobionix move its technology from pilot sites into wider clinical use, starting with a launch in the U.S.

“This means that we can get to market a lot quicker going through the regulatory process and enabling health-care providers to see more patients,” said Sefati.

What is CODI?

CODI is an AI-powered robot made to support health-care workers by taking on routine, high-precision tasks, like performing an ultrasound exam. Unlike most medical robots, it’s built to be flexible and easy to update, so it can switch between clinical tasks using simple tool changes and cloud-based software updates.

That adaptability makes CODI especially useful in hospitals and clinics facing staffing shortages or long wait times.

“Patients come in all different shapes and sizes, so we need to be able to adapt to the different environments and the patients that people see,” said Sefati. “We’ve given CODI all the necessary sensors, technology and AI to make it a platform that can easily adapt to different scenarios.”

Born in Waterloo, built for the world

Cobionix was founded in 2021 out of the University of Waterloo’s Velocity incubator. Since then, the team has grown into one of the few companies in the world developing autonomous, AI-enabled medical robotics platforms.

The company made headlines for developing the world’s first autonomous robot capable of delivering an intramuscular injection, including a needle-free version using a high-pressure fluid jet.

In recent years, Cobionix has also expanded its work into sectors like manufacturing and logistics, but health care remains its core focus.

Sefati says CODI is designed to work with people, not replace them. It can greet patients, walk them through procedures, and perform tasks under the remote supervision of a technician.

“For our long-term vision, we see a world where robotics works alongside health-care providers to augment their capabilities and enable them to do more with fewer resources,” said Sefati. “We know that health-care systems across the world are facing resource constraints and that workers are working overtime to help meet the basic level of care for patients. So, we see a world where robots enable our health-care providers to do a lot more with the resources that they have today.”

Cobionix envisions a future where robots like CODI can help extend the reach of skilled clinicians, reduce wait times, and improve access to care, particularly in rural and underserved communities.

Pilots already underway

CODI is already being tested in Canada, the U.S., and the U.K., with support from health-care partners including the Saskatchewan Health Authority and the National Health Service (NHS).

The funding from TitletownTech and others will help Cobionix grow those pilot projects and bring CODI into more real-world clinical settings.

The company was also recently accepted into the next cohort of the Communitech MedTech Accelerator, a program designed to support high-potential health-tech companies as they navigate commercialization and scale.

A local tech success story

With its latest funding round, Cobionix joins a growing list of Waterloo Region companies bringing Canadian-made innovation to global markets, and credits the support of the local tech ecosystem for its ability to grow and succeed.

“It’s everything to us,” said Sefati. “It’s the launchpad that’s enabled us to find the right talent, the right mentors, and the right partners who believe in our mission. And that mission is to accelerate the adoption of robotics for everyday tasks.”

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