Global rehab robotics leader Fourier Intelligence has secured further investment to help fuel its international growth plans.
The Shanghai-based medtech business has received RMB 400million (£46.9million) in Series D funding, led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and backed by existing investor Saudi Aramco P7 Venture Fund, alongside Yuanjing Vision Plus Capital.
The latest funding – which comes shortly after Fourier became the first rehab robotics business to attract a major investor on board through its partnership with Saudi Aramco – will accelerate Fourier’s go-to-market expansion for its array of rehab devices, enable innovation across its advanced healthcare robotics solutions and accelerate global growth opportunities.
Led by founder and group CEO Alex Gu, and Zen Koh, co-founder and group deputy CEO, Fourier Intelligence has become a global leader in neurorehabilitation robotics, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital rehabilitation solutions for the healthcare industry.
Leveraging on intelligent robotics, smart actuators, sensors, machine learning, and proprietary control algorithms, Fourier develops and provides an intelligent healthcare robotic platform, RehabHub™, that delivers tailored digital healthcare solutions that revolutionise the neurorehabilitation industry.
The company – which was invited to be based in the ‘Silicon Valley of the East’ in recognition of its growth and future potential – has over 1,000 global institutional healthcare customers and 17 international research joint labs in Singapore, Chicago, Phoenix, Zürich, Melbourne, Madrid, Kobe, and Kuala Lumpur.
Fourier develops world-leading rehab robotic equipment
“The rehabilitation market has significant tech adoption potential, and we demonstrated almost three times growth in revenue in 2021, despite the challenges posed by the global pandemic,” said Alex Gu.
“China sees increasing demand for rehabilitation services with the ageing population, increased number of patients with chronic diseases, and rehab development in the clinics. There has been a continuous shortage of physicians nationwide.
“In addition, Fourier’s comprehensive product portfolio with solid capabilities in hardware (including force sensor, monitor, and controller) and algorithm (for force control and feedback) is well-positioned to address clinical pain points.
“We believe intelligent rehabilitation technology companies like Fourier Intelligence can solve the talent bottleneck and provide practical and quantifiable treatments to improve patient outcomes.
“We are pleased to partner with Joanne Xu and the SoftBank Investment Advisers team to continue our development of the intelligent rehabilitation sector. We look forward to harnessing their support to create significant value not only for the medical rehabilitation robotic communities but also for the robotic world to tackle the most complex global challenges facing humanity and the environment.”
As a global leading manufacturer and solutions provider of AI-powered rehabilitation robotics, Fourier is committed to technological innovation and has been leading, supporting, and participating in international scientific research in the field of rehabilitation robotics.
Some of such initiatives are joint research laboratories, including the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab (formerly known as the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago) in the United States, the University of Melbourne in Australia, ETH Zürich in Switzerland, National University of Singapore, Kobe University in Japan and the KITE Research Institute at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute in Canada.
These partnerships put Fourier at the forefront of technological innovation and enable Fourier to offer industry-leading products across end-to-end rehabilitation services, with innovative solutions to solve specific clinical constraints.
“As China’s population ages, there is increasing demand for rehabilitation services, but these patients face a shortage of qualified therapists,” said Joanne Xu, Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers.
“We believe that Fourier Intelligence is well placed to solve this talent bottleneck by using technology to provide effective and quantifiable treatments to achieve better patient outcomes.
“It has built an integrated solution combining a digital platform, hospital services and a comprehensive product portfolio in collaboration with over 30 world-leading hospitals and research institutions. We are excited to partner with Alex Gu and the team to support technological innovation in China’s rehabilitation sector.”
Driven by its vision of ‘rehabilitation for all’ through intelligent technology, Fourier Intelligence implemented a series of modern rehabilitation
Zen Koh
centres with strategic institutional clinical partners under its RehabHub™ concept.
The possibility of data interconnectivity and multi-machine coordination between multiple rehabilitation robotics reduced the number of clinicians required, significantly improving efficiency and costs.
The company aims to become a global one-stop solution provider provider for intelligent rehabilitation whilst providing world-class technology that is affordable and highly competitive for the clinical market.
“Our mission as a company is to enable widespread patient access to life-changing technology-enabled therapies,” added Zen Koh.
“One of the biggest obstacles to achieving this is the high costs and low technology adoption rate. Our team focused on the urgent need to enhance availability, accessibility, and affordability, yet ensuring the effectiveness of our intelligent robotic solution, RehabHub™.
“The significant experience and capital that our strategic investors bring to Fourier will help us rapidly realise global commercialisation and to deliver these innovative therapies to as many patients as quickly as possible.”
Aysar Tayeb, executive managing director of P7, added: “Prosperity 7 is thrilled to continue supporting Fourier in this latest round of investment and through ongoing strategic collaboration.
“We hope to land Fourier’s rehabilitation solutions within the Kingdom’s network of hospitals and clinics and look forward to working with the company to deliver the most advanced rehabilitation services and solutions and improve recovery and the quality of life for patients in Saudi Arabia and beyond.”
