What Livsmed does

Livsmed Inc. is a Korean medical device company founded in 2011 and listed on the KOSDAQ exchange (ticker 491000) since December 2025, headquartered in South Korea with a San Diego presence and 101–250 employees. The company designs and manufactures surgical instruments for minimally invasive procedures, anchored by the ArtiSential handheld laparoscopic device, a multi-joint, multi-degrees-of-freedom articulating instrument that gives surgeons greater dexterity than conventional rigid laparoscopic tools. Livsmed is transitioning from a single-product handheld instrument maker into a robotic surgery platform company, anchored by STARK, which the company positions as the world's first telesurgery-native robotic surgical system, featuring 90° articulation and a smaller footprint than incumbent robotic platforms.

The core technology is the multi-joint, multi-DOF surgical instrument platform, protected by an IP portfolio of 939 items (including 63 patents, 17 trademarks, and 9 designs acquired from U.S.-based FlexDex Surgical in January 2026 as a blocking patent strategy). STARK's telesurgery capability was demonstrated across 2,000 miles (Santa Barbara, CA to Chicago, IL) in partnership with Sovato, with surgeons from City of Hope completing cholecystectomy, gastrojejunostomy, and partial liver resection on a porcine model. The company earns revenue through hardware sales of ArtiSential instruments and STARK robotic systems to hospitals and healthcare systems via an enterprise field sales motion.

The business model is capital-intensive medical device hardware sales with no disclosed pricing; the December 2025 KOSDAQ IPO raised approximately $94 million at ₩55,000 per share, achieving unicorn status with roughly $1 billion market capitalization. Proceeds are allocated to an integrated production base, R&D, and management systems to support global expansion. The investor base includes Stonebridge Ventures (12.72% pre-secondary, now reduced), major domestic Korean pension funds, institutions, and global financial firms. Founder-tier leadership is not disclosed in available source material.

Name

Livsmed

Legal name

Livsmed Inc.

Website

https://livsmed.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Ipo

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Livsmed is a Korean medical device company that designs and sells minimally invasive surgical instruments, including the ArtiSential handheld articulating laparoscopic device and the STARK telesurgery-native robotic system, serving hospitals and healthcare systems globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Surgical Robotics and Minimally Invasive Surgical Devices

NAICS

Surgical and Medical Instrument Manufacturing (339112)

SIC

Surgical & Medical Instruments & Apparatus (3841)

akta.pro primary industry

Surgical Robotics & Computer-Assisted Surgery Platforms (HLAHADAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Open & Minimally Invasive Surgical Instruments (Handheld, Laparoscopic, MIS) (HLAHADAA)

Keywords

• Surgical robotics
• Laparoscopic instruments
• Minimally invasive surgery
• Telesurgery systems
• Medical device manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

San Diego

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Surgical Instruments and Robotics Hardware: LivsMed generates revenue from the sale of handheld laparoscopic surgical devices (ArtiSential) and robotic surgical systems (STARK) to hospitals and healthcare providers.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Livsmed manufactures and sells minimally invasive surgical hardware, including the ArtiSential multi-joint handheld laparoscopic surgical device and the STARK telesurgery-native robotic surgical system. Products are sold to hospitals and healthcare providers for use in laparoscopic and robotic minimally invasive surgical procedures, including long-distance telesurgery applications.

Product overview

Livsmed is a Korean medical device company offering a portfolio of surgical instruments spanning handheld laparoscopic devices and robotic surgery systems. The company's core products include the ArtiSential laparoscopic surgical device and the STARK telesurgery-native robotic surgical system. Livsmed has expanded its IP portfolio to 939 items through organic development and acquisition of FlexDex assets (89 IP rights including 63 patents, 17 trademarks, and 9 designs), covering the entire multi-joint, multi-degrees-of-freedom surgical instrument platform. The company transitioned from a KOSDAQ listing in December 2025 and completed an IPO raising approximately $94 million, achieving unicorn status with a market capitalization of roughly $1 billion.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ArtiSential: Laparoscopic surgical device developed by Livsmed
• STARK
• STARK Surgical Robot

Products and services

• ArtiSential Multi-joint, multi-degrees-of-freedom handheld laparoscopic surgical device used by surgeons in hospitals and healthcare systems for minimally invasive procedures.
• STARK Surgical Robot World's first telesurgery-native robotic surgical system designed to make advanced remote robotic surgery affordable and accessible globally. Features 90-degree articulation and a smaller footprint than existing robotic systems, enabling long-distance telesurgery.

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• FlexDex SurgicalcoreTechnology or Integration · 12 January 2026Livsmed acquired technology assets including 89 intellectual property rights (63 patents, 17 trademarks, 9 designs) from U.S. surgical instrument specialist FlexDex Surgical. The acquisition covers the entire multi-joint, multi-degrees-of-freedom surgical instrument platform, serving as a blocking patent strategy against rivals.
• SovatocoreTechnology or Integration · 14 July 2025LivsMed partnered with Sovato to remote-enable the STARK surgical robot platform. The companies successfully demonstrated long-distance telesurgery across 2,000 miles (Santa Barbara, CA to Chicago, IL) using the STARK platform. Sovato provides the remote-enabling technology component for the telesurgery-native robotic surgical system.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Intuitive Surgical: Maker of the da Vinci surgical robot, the dominant platform in robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery. Most directly comparable to Livsmed's STARK robotic system and a benchmark competitor for hospital procurement.
• Medtronic: Develops the Hugo robotic-assisted surgery system targeting the same laparoscopic surgical robotics market as STARK. Competes for hospital capital budgets and articulating instrument IP.
• Johnson & Johnson MedTech (Ethicon): Developing the Ottava robotic surgery platform and a broad laparoscopic instrument portfolio. Overlaps with Livsmed's ArtiSential handheld devices and STARK robotic system across hospitals.
• CMR Surgical: Maker of the Versius surgical robot, a modular, small-footprint robotic system competing in laparoscopic procedures. Most directly comparable to STARK on cost/accessibility positioning outside the US.

Emerging players

• Moon Surgical: Early-stage surgical robotics company developing a smaller-footprint robotic-assisted laparoscopic platform (Maestro). Competes on the same cost-and-footprint value proposition as STARK.
• Vicarious Surgical: Develops a single-port robotic surgical system with virtual reality and decoupled actuator architecture. Targets abdominal minimally invasive surgery, overlapping with Livsmed's articulating instrument approach.
• FlexDex Surgical: U.S. surgical instrument specialist whose IP assets (89 items) were acquired by Livsmed. Originally developed articulating needle drivers/instruments in the same multi-joint category as ArtiSential.

Broad incumbents

• Stryker: Operates the Mako robotic surgery platform (orthopedics) plus a broad surgical instruments and endoscopy portfolio. A broad incumbent with overlapping surgical robotics ambitions.
• Karl Storz: Global leader in endoscopic and laparoscopic instruments with recent robotics investments (including Asensus Surgical). Directly comparable product portfolio in laparoscopic visualization and instrumentation.
• Olympus: Major laparoscopic/endoscopic instrument manufacturer with growing surgical robotics exposure. Competes with Livsmed's ArtiSential in articulating laparoscopic instruments and adjacent to STARK.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/LivsMedSurgical
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/livsmed

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 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 Livsmed