What Formus does

Formus Labs (legal entity: Formus Labs Ltd) is a New Zealand-based orthopedic software company that develops AI-automated 3D pre-operative surgical planning software for joint replacement procedures. Founded from within the Auckland Bioengineering Institute after more than a decade of computational biomechanics research, the company combines computer vision for automated CT image segmentation with patient-specific biomechanical modeling to generate ready-to-execute surgical plans in under an hour — replacing the manual templating workflow that typically takes days and is prone to magnification errors. Its core commercial product, Formus Hip, received FDA 510(k) clearance in December 2024 as the first 'automated radiological image processing software' for hip replacement pre-op planning and is the only clinically available product in the portfolio; Formus Atlas (automated segmentation-as-a-service), Formus Navigator (soft-tissue biomechanics guidance), and Formus Spine (spinal fusion planning) remain in development.

The company generates revenue through per-surgery usage fees and subscription arrangements with hospitals and orthopedic surgery centers. It serves three primary customer segments: high-volume orthopedic surgeons specializing in total hip arthroplasty, hospitals and surgical centers seeking to reduce revision rates and inventory costs, and orthopedic device manufacturers (most notably Zimmer Biomet) seeking pre-operative planning technology to enhance their implant offerings. Go-to-market is hybrid: in ANZ and Japan Formus relies on an exclusive distribution partnership with Zimmer Biomet, which provides sales force, training, and marketing support and accounts for the bulk of the 3,500+ procedures planned to date; in the US market the company is building its own direct enterprise sales capability following FDA clearance.

Formus is privately held and venture-backed, with approximately US$5 million raised in a February 2022 pre-series A round led by GD1, alongside Punakaiki Fund, Icehouse Ventures, Pacific Channel, and Flying Kiwis, plus additional capital from Callaghan Innovation grants and a March 2023 follow-on round. The team is small (20+ employees across New Zealand and Australia) and engineering-led, with founders and a scientific advisory group drawn from the Auckland Bioengineering Institute. The company holds ISO 13485 certification (since 2020) and MDSAP certification covering Australia, Canada, USA, and Japan (since 2023).

Name

Formus

Legal name

Formus Labs Ltd

Website

https://formus.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Formus Labs develops AI-automated 3D pre-operative surgical planning software for orthopedic joint replacement, with its FDA-cleared Formus Hip platform serving orthopedic surgeons, hospitals, and device partners like Zimmer Biomet across ANZ, Japan, and the US.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Orthopedic Surgical Planning Software

NAICS

Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Hip & Knee Reconstruction (Arthroplasty) (HLAKALAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Radiology AI, CAD & Advanced Visualization Software (HLAHABAJ), Surgical Navigation, Robotics & Patient-Matched Instrumentation (Ortho/Spine) (HLAHAEAL), Medical Imaging AI (HDAAAEAH)

Keywords

• Orthopedic surgical planning
• AI medical imaging
• Pre-operative planning software
• Computational biomechanics
• Joint replacement planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Auckland

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Software Licensing/Subscription: SaaS model for surgical planning software delivered via cloud platform. Surgeons and hospitals subscribe to access the Formus Hip platform for pre-operative planning. Revenue generated per surgery planned or through subscription agreements.
2. Usage-based Surgery Planning: Revenue received per surgery planned using the Formus platform. More than 90 surgeries have been planned generating usage revenue since commercial rollout.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Formus Labs develops and sells AI-automated 3D pre-operative surgical planning software for orthopedic joint replacement procedures. The flagship product, Formus Hip, automatically converts patient CT scans into ready-to-execute surgical plans in under an hour, eliminating manual image segmentation and enabling patient-specific implant sizing, orientation, and placement optimization for primary total hip arthroplasty. The platform is delivered to hospitals and surgeons via cloud-based browser application or secure API, with commercial availability in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and the United States.

Product overview

Formus Labs offers a cloud-based orthopedic surgery planning platform centered on AI-automated 3D pre-operative planning. The core product is Formus Hip, which automatically generates surgical plans from CT scans in under an hour. Two add-on modules extend the platform: Formus Atlas (image segmentation and landmarking service for orthopedic industry workflows, in development) and Formus Navigator (soft-tissue informed pre-, intra-, and post-op guidance for optimizing surgical targets and muscle function, in development). A future module, Formus Spine, targets spinal fusion surgery planning. All products are powered by a fusion of computational biomechanics and AI-automation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Formus Hip: World's first cloud-based AI-automated 3D pre-operative planning software for primary total hip arthroplasty. Automatically generates ready-to-execute surgical plans in under an hour from patient CT scans.
• Formus Atlas
• Formus Navigator
• Formus Spine

Products and services

• Formus Hip The world's first cloud-based AI-automated 3D pre-operative planning software for primary total hip arthroplasty (THA). From a patient CT scan, Formus Hip automatically generates a ready-to-execute surgical plan in under an hour, enabling automated, efficient, and personalized planning for every patient and surgeon. Licensed to hospitals, orthopedic surgeons, and surgical centers, with FDA 510(k) clearance, ISO 13485, MDSAP, TGA, and Japanese regulatory approvals.

Quantifiable outcome

• 25% cost reduction in joint replacement surgery
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Zimmer BiometcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 2 February 2022Long-term exclusive distribution agreement for Formus Hip in Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. Zimmer Biomet provides sales force, training, and marketing support. Partnership began with ANZ rollout in early 2022 and expanded to Japan in 2025 following successful five-year collaboration. Successfully planned over 3,500 THA procedures together.
• Auckland Bioengineering Institute (ABI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Origin institution of Formus Labs. World-renowned bioengineering research institute providing foundational research, talent, and ongoing collaboration for computational biomechanics development.
• Callaghan InnovationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment research institution providing funding and support for Formus Spine development and earlier R&D initiatives including knee surgery research.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Stryker: One of the world's largest orthopedic implant companies, owner of the Mako robotic-arm platform with its own pre-operative 3D planning software. Comparable as a broad incumbent offering an integrated implant-plus-planning workflow competing for the same hospital orthopedic budget as Formus.
• Smith+Nephew: Global orthopedic implant and sports medicine company with its own surgical planning and robotic surgery capabilities. Comparable as a broad incumbent with overlapping orthopedic surgery customer base and an integrated hardware-software stack.
• Zimmer Biomet: Major orthopedic implant manufacturer that is simultaneously Formus's exclusive distribution partner and a competitor with its own surgical planning and ROSA robotics platform. Relevant because it sets the competitive bar for integrated orthopedic software-plus-implant offerings.
• RadNet (DeepHealth): Large diagnostic imaging provider operating imaging centers and developing radiology AI tools through its DeepHealth subsidiary. Comparable as a broader medical imaging AI player intersecting with Formus's radiological image processing technology.

Direct peers

• Brainlab: Digital surgery software company providing pre-operative planning and intra-operative guidance across multiple surgical specialties, including orthopedics. Comparable as a direct competitor in surgical planning software with similar cloud-based enterprise selling motion.
• Materialise (OrthoView): Provides OrthoView, a long-established pre-operative templating and planning solution for joint replacement widely used in hospitals. Comparable as a direct competitor in orthopedic digital pre-op planning, particularly on the 2D templating side Formus aims to disrupt.

Emerging players

• OrthoGrid Systems: Specialist orthopedic surgical planning and intra-operative guidance company focused on hip and knee replacement. Comparable as an emerging player targeting the same orthopedic surgical planning workflow with AI-enabled image processing.
• Pixee Medical: Augmented reality surgical navigation company for orthopedic procedures including knee and hip arthroplasty. Comparable as an emerging player using computer vision/AI to modernize orthopedic surgical workflow.
• Think Surgical: Developer of robot-assisted orthopedic surgical systems with associated pre-operative planning software. Comparable as an emerging player combining surgical planning with execution in joint replacement.
• Nanox (Zebra Medical Vision / DeepHealth competitor): Medical imaging technology company with an AI imaging analytics arm focused on automated radiological analysis. Comparable as an emerging player in radiology AI and automated image processing relevant to Formus's core technology stack.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/formuslabs

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds11 records

Investors13 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Formus