The medical healthcare corporation MHG announced on the 9th that it will acquire 'Meta Robotics', a subsidiary of the global aesthetic medical device company Venus Concept, which specializes in artificial intelligence (AI)-based hair transplant technology.
Meta Robotics is rooted in Restoration Robotics, founded by Dr. Frederick Moll, who is known as a pioneer in the medical robotics field. Dr. Moll is a co-founder of Intuitive Surgical, the American company well-known for the surgical robot 'Da Vinci.'
Meta Robotics holds over 200 patents worldwide. It currently supplies products to major markets such as Asia, North America, Europe, and Oceania, and has recorded cumulative sales of approximately $48 million over the last three years.
Through this acquisition, MHG will secure 100% equity in Meta Robotics. It will take over all technology portfolios, equipment, services, intellectual property (IP), and the manufacturing and research and development (R&D) facility located in San Jose, California, as well as the manufacturing rights for Neograft. The existing team leading the company, along with customers and key industry stakeholders, will focus on selling ARTAS iX and continuing research and development.
ARTAS iX is a state-of-the-art robotic hair transplant system that incorporates a robotic arm with a precision of 0.1mm, a 3D camera with a resolution of 44μm (micrometers; 1μm is one-millionth of a meter), and AI algorithms. It automates the entire process from hair extraction to transplantation, minimizing the chance of human error and is evaluated as a vastly improved solution in terms of safety, efficiency, aesthetic quality, resilience, and more compared to conventional hair transplants.
Dr. Moll has directly participated in research and development, and the system is currently being supplied to hundreds of medical institutions worldwide. In Korea, it was first introduced at a hair transplantation specialty hospital in Gangnam, Seoul, in April.
With this acquisition, MHG plans to expand its business scope into the medical AI and robotics sector, aiming to become a leading company in the next-generation healthcare industry. In particular, it intends to collaborate with the largest domestic hair transplantation medical institution and global partners with advanced R&D capabilities to develop next-generation medical devices, such as automated follicle separation robots. Strengthening the price competitiveness of existing products will also be a focus to advance into the global market.
An MHG official emphasized, "Korea, with outstanding AI and robotics technology infrastructure as well as clinical environments, is growing as a global hub for the medical robotics industry. The robotic surgery market has a structure where subsequent steady maintenance and upgrade demands arise from the sales of medical robots, making it an attractive market with long-term revenue potential and high entry barriers."
According to market research firm Precedence Research, the global medical robotics market is expected to grow from approximately $13 billion (around 18 trillion won) last year by more than 17% annually, reaching $37 billion (around 50 trillion won) by 2030. The hair transplant market is also predicted to expand from about $7.5 billion (around 10 trillion won) to about $24 billion (around 32 trillion won) during the same period.
An MHG official stated, "We will actively utilize the hair transplant medical device-related technologies and overseas distribution networks held by our subsidiary METAPHARM to maximize synergies. Starting from this acquisition, we plan to pursue strategic partnerships and mergers and acquisitions with promising AI robotics technology companies in various aesthetic medical fields, such as dentistry and dermatology, and leap to becoming a leader in the global AI medical robotics sector."