Key Points
- Glasgow-based medical technology company Nami Surgical has secured £3.4 million in additional funding to develop and commercialise its ultrasonic technology for robotic-assisted surgery.
- The funding round extension was led by a £2 million investment from the Scottish National Investment Bank, with participation from existing investors Eos Advisory, Scottish Enterprise and the Investment Fund for Scotland.
- The company plans to expand its research and development team at its Hillington headquarters in south-west Glasgow, creating five additional jobs.
- Founded in 2021 by University of Glasgow spin-out researchers Dr Nico Fenu and Dr Rebecca Cleary, Nami Surgical has developed a patent-protected ultrasonic scalpel designed for integration with robotic surgical systems.
- The technology miniaturises the component that generates ultrasonic vibrations, allowing the scalpel to bend and rotate while retaining its ability to cut tissue and seal blood vessels.
- Nami Surgical is pursuing strategic partnerships with major global healthcare companies as it prepares to commercialise its technology.
- The investment follows the appointment of Nikki Palfrey as chief executive in January 2026, the company’s achievement of ISO 13485 certification and its recognition as Bio-tech Manufacturer of the Year at the 2026 Made in Scotland Awards.
- Investors and Scottish business representatives say the funding will support commercial development, high-skilled employment and the growth of Scotland’s life sciences and medical technology sector.
What Has Nami Surgical Announced About Its £3.4 Million Funding?
Glasgow-based medical technology company Nami Surgical has secured £3.4 million to advance the development and commercialisation of its ultrasonic technology for robotic-assisted surgery, strengthening its plans to expand research and development and create five additional jobs in Scotland.
The funding, announced on 14 October 2026, forms part of an extension to the company’s investment round. As reported by Graham Turner of DIGIT in his article, Glasgow Medtech Firm Nami Surgical Secures £3.4m Funding, the investment was led by the Scottish National Investment Bank, which contributed £2 million. Existing investors Eos Advisory, Scottish Enterprise and the Investment Fund for Scotland also participated.
The Investment Fund for Scotland is managed by Maven Capital Partners and delivered by the British Business Bank. The funding is intended to help Nami Surgical progress from technology development towards commercial adoption, while increasing the engineering and research capabilities needed to support that transition.
According to Rachel Covill’s report for TheBusinessDesk.com, Glasgow surgical robotics firm raises £3.4m to scale ultrasonic scalpel; the investment will support the expansion of the company’s research and development team at its headquarters in Hillington, south-west Glasgow, creating five additional positions.
The announcement represents a further development in Nami Surgical’s efforts to bring its specialist surgical technology to the global market. Rather than simply financing early-stage research, the latest investment is intended to support commercialisation, strengthen the company’s technical team and help establish relationships with potential international partners.
Who Invested in Nami Surgical’s Latest Funding Round?
The £3.4 million funding round extension brings together the Scottish National Investment Bank and several existing backers that have supported Nami Surgical’s development.
The Scottish National Investment Bank led the round with £2 million. Eos Advisory, which led the company’s previous two funding rounds, also participated alongside Scottish Enterprise and the Investment Fund for Scotland.
In its announcement published on 14 October 2026, Nami Surgical identified the continued involvement of existing investors as an important source of support as it moves towards commercialisation.
Andrew McNeill, managing partner at Eos Advisory, said the participation of existing investors demonstrated their collective confidence in the company’s team and its ability to carry out its commercialisation plans.
McNeill added that Eos had invested in Nami Surgical from its inception and had helped develop the team through a hands-on, supportive approach. His comments underline the role of early-stage investment firms in supporting specialist technology businesses as they progress from research and development towards commercial markets.
Derek Shaw, director of company funding and investment at Scottish Enterprise, said the organisation had supported Nami Surgical’s ambition to develop technology that advances surgery over several years.
Shaw described the life sciences industry as an important opportunity for Scottish economic growth. He said businesses such as Nami Surgical could contribute by scaling up, creating high-value jobs and competing internationally.
Sarah Newbould, senior investment manager at Nations & Regions Investment Funds at the British Business Bank, also welcomed the company’s plans.
Newbould said Nami Surgical’s intention to create jobs and develop advanced technology aligned with the ambitions of the Investment Fund for Scotland. She described the business as an example of innovation within Scotland’s life sciences sector and said the fund looked forward to seeing its progress following the investment.
How Does Nami Surgical’s Robotic Surgery Technology Work?
Nami Surgical develops ultrasonic scalpels designed to operate within robotic-assisted surgical systems. The company was founded in 2021 as a spin-out from the University of Glasgow by Dr Nico Fenu and Dr Rebecca Cleary.
According to the company, the founders identified a clinical need for ultrasonic surgical instruments that could be integrated into robotic systems. Traditional ultrasonic scalpels have generally been too large and rigid for effective use with certain robotic surgical devices, limiting their flexibility within these systems.
Ultrasonic scalpels use high-frequency vibrations to cut tissue and seal blood vessels simultaneously. These capabilities can support precise surgical work by combining tissue cutting and vessel sealing in a single instrument.
Nami Surgical’s approach focuses on miniaturising the transducer, the component responsible for generating ultrasonic vibrations. By reducing the size of this component, the company has developed a patent-protected scalpel that can bend and rotate within robotic surgical systems while retaining its tissue-cutting and sealing functions.
As reported by Graham Turner of DIGIT, the technology is intended to address an integration challenge associated with conventional ultrasonic instruments. The smaller design is intended to give surgeons greater flexibility when using robotic-assisted equipment.
The development is relevant to the wider medical technology industry because robotic-assisted surgery depends on instruments that can operate within increasingly compact and articulated systems. Nami Surgical is working to establish its technology as part of this evolving market, although commercial adoption will depend on further development, evidence generation and relationships with healthcare partners.
The company has said that demand for robotic-assisted surgery is expanding internationally and that it sees opportunities for its technology and in-house expertise. It is consequently working to form strategic partnerships with major global healthcare companies.
How Will the £3.4 Million Investment Support Jobs and Commercialisation?
The funding will support Nami Surgical’s transition from demonstrating its technology’s potential to building the capabilities required to bring it into the surgical environment.
The company plans to recruit five additional research and development employees at its Hillington headquarters. The expansion is expected to strengthen its engineering team and support further work needed before wider commercial adoption.
Nikki Palfrey, chief executive of Nami Surgical, said the company had reached an important stage in its development, moving beyond demonstrating the potential of its technology towards establishing the capabilities and partnerships needed to introduce it into surgical settings.
Palfrey said the investment would provide resources to accelerate this process, strengthen the engineering team in Glasgow and continue generating the evidence and relationships required for commercial adoption.
She also outlined the company’s ambition to become a key technology partner in the global robotic surgery market. According to Palfrey, Nami Surgical aims to combine Scottish engineering expertise with ultrasonic innovation to address an unmet need among surgeons.
The chief executive said the company was proud to be developing its technology in Glasgow and valued the continued backing of investors who shared its ambition to reach international markets.
The additional recruitment will increase the company’s research and development capacity. However, the announcement does not specify the individual roles, recruitment timetable or expected completion date for the expansion.
The investment therefore provides a financial foundation for the next stage of development, while the company’s progress towards commercialisation will depend on its ability to advance the technology, establish partnerships and satisfy the requirements associated with introducing medical devices into clinical environments.
What Milestones Has Nami Surgical Achieved Before the Latest Investment?
The latest funding follows several developments in Nami Surgical’s leadership, quality assurance and industry recognition.
In January 2026, Nikki Palfrey joined the company as chief executive. Her appointment expanded the company’s senior leadership team as it prepared to move its technology towards commercialisation.
Nami Surgical has also secured ISO 13485 certification, a quality management standard specifically associated with medical devices. The standard addresses quality management systems used by organisations involved in the design, development, production and related activities of medical devices.
The certification is relevant to a company developing surgical instruments because quality management forms part of the broader framework needed to develop and manufacture medical devices consistently. Certification alone does not establish that a device has received all necessary regulatory approvals or is ready for unrestricted clinical use.
The company was also named Bio-tech Manufacturer of the Year at the 2026 Made in Scotland Awards, providing further recognition of its work in medical technology development and manufacturing.
These milestones provide context for the funding announcement. The appointment of a chief executive, the achievement of a medical-device quality certification and industry recognition have accompanied Nami Surgical’s efforts to build the organisation and relationships needed for commercial growth.
The latest funding is intended to help the company continue that progress while expanding its research and development capabilities in Glasgow.
What Do Investors Say About the Opportunity in Robotic-Assisted Surgery?
Ailsa Young, investment director at the Scottish National Investment Bank, said robotic-assisted surgery was a rapidly growing field in the global medical technology industry.
Young said Nami Surgical’s intellectual property introduced new capabilities to the field and showed potential to support a broader range of robotic-assisted procedures more effectively and safely.
She also highlighted the commercial opportunity presented by Scottish university research and medical technology development, pointing to the company’s progress as an example of how research-based businesses can develop commercial applications.
Young said the investment would help secure high-skilled jobs within Nami Surgical’s Glasgow team, reinforce the city’s reputation in ultrasonics and retain valuable intellectual property and technology in Scotland.
Her comments connect the investment to the bank’s wider economic objectives. The Scottish National Investment Bank was established in November 2020 and is wholly owned by Scottish Government ministers on behalf of the people of Scotland, although it operates independently from government.
According to the bank’s published information, its investment approach seeks both commercial returns and tangible benefits aligned with its missions. These include addressing the climate crisis through a fair and sustainable economy, supporting innovation and improving communities.
Nami Surgical’s investment is relevant particularly to the bank’s innovation and economic development objectives because it supports the development of specialist technology, additional employment and a Scottish business seeking to compete internationally.
The statements from Young, McNeill, Shaw and Newbould reflect the investors’ confidence in the company’s plans. They are assessments of the business’s potential rather than guarantees of future commercial success.
What Is Nami Surgical’s Strategy for International Growth?
Nami Surgical is seeking to establish strategic partnerships with major global healthcare companies as it advances towards commercialisation.
The company believes that the expanding adoption of robotic-assisted surgery creates opportunities for specialist instruments that can integrate with robotic systems. Its miniaturised ultrasonic technology is designed to address limitations associated with the size and rigidity of conventional ultrasonic scalpels.
Palfrey said the company’s ambition was to become a key technology partner in the international robotic surgery market. She also emphasised the importance of developing the evidence and commercial relationships needed to support adoption.
Partnerships could form an important part of the company’s growth strategy by connecting its engineering capabilities with organisations that have experience in medical technology development, distribution or healthcare markets. However, the announcement does not name specific new commercial partners or confirm any completed partnership agreements arising from the latest funding.
The investment gives Nami Surgical additional resources to pursue these objectives while maintaining its research and development base in Glasgow.
The company has also described its technology as part of a wider effort to advance surgical innovation and improve patient outcomes. Those ambitions remain linked to its ability to demonstrate the technology’s performance, meet relevant requirements and establish a sustainable commercial presence.
For Scotland’s life sciences sector, the announcement provides another example of a university spin-out seeking to translate specialist research into a commercial medical technology business.
What Does Nami Surgical’s Funding Mean for Scotland’s Medical Technology Sector?
Nami Surgical’s £3.4 million funding round extension combines private investment and support from Scottish and UK business investment organisations to help a Glasgow-based technology company progress towards commercialisation.
The planned creation of five additional jobs will expand the company’s research and development team, while the investment is intended to support the further development of its robotic-assisted surgical instruments.
The announcement also highlights the relationship between university research, specialist engineering, investment and commercial growth. Founded by researchers from the University of Glasgow, Nami Surgical has developed a patent-protected device intended to address a specific technical challenge in robotic-assisted surgery.
For businesses operating in the medical technology sector, progress towards commercialisation involves more than developing a new product. Companies must also build appropriate teams, establish quality management processes, generate supporting evidence and develop relationships that can help bring their technology to market.
These considerations connect naturally with Healthcare Management, particularly the management of innovation, medical technology development and the organisational processes needed to support healthcare products. The importance of quality systems and consistent processes also makes Quality and Productivity relevant to the wider operational context of medical device development.
Nami Surgical’s latest funding does not, by itself, establish when its technology will reach broader commercial adoption or how much revenue it may generate. It does, however, provide additional resources for research and development, planned recruitment and partnership-building as the company pursues its international ambitions.
The next stage will depend on the company’s progress in developing its technology, building commercial relationships, and demonstrating that its instruments can meet the needs of robotic-assisted surgery.