Planatome LLC, developer of a proprietary nano-polishing technology, today announced a commercial agreement with a major undisclosed U.S. supplier of robotic-assisted and minimally invasive surgical (RAS/MIS) tools. The first phase is live: Under the terms of the agreement, Planatome is nano-polishing the supplier’s devices at its Phoenix facility. The second phase, comprising full integration of the technology into the supplier’s manufacturing line, is scheduled for 2027.

“This is exactly the kind of relationship we envisioned,” said Tim Tobin, chief executive officer of Planatome. “We’ve shown what this technology can do, infusing a level of value into surgical tooling that wasn’t possible before nano-polishing made the jump from semiconductor to medical. Today’s agreement is a foundational step as we move forward on a defined path to a much deeper commercial integration. Our nano-polishing platform applies across every core submarket of surgical cutting instruments: RAS/MIS, traditional open and orthopedic tooling among them. We’re actively expanding our commercial footprint with major players in each.”

For more than a century, surgical cutting instruments have relied on essentially the same blade finishing methods. Planatome’s nano-polishing changes that. Its technology is adapted from cutting-edge semiconductor manufacturing, a process so precise it constructs chips with billions of features no wider than a strand of human DNA. That same nanometer-scale precision is now available to surgical cutting instruments and is particularly relevant in the RAS/MIS market, one of medicine’s most exacting environments.

“Our patented nano-polishing technology was engineered to improve precision, durability of the blade edge, and consistency of the cutting surface that is critically important for high-value surgical devices,” said Keith Jeffcoat, DEng, President and Chief Innovation Officer of Planatome. “This agreement extends our proven platform technology to commercial scale, bringing one of the most advanced cutting technologies into the medical device space.”

RAS/MIS are widely considered the fastest-growing categories in medtech. The global market for RAS alone is forecast to grow at a 15% compound annual growth rate, from $17 billion in 2026 to more than $45 billion by 2033. Instruments and accessories make up an estimated 54% of that market, according to Grand View Research. OEMs and private equity-backed platforms alike are moving aggressively to secure differentiated technology and supply relationships as competitive advantages amid accelerating market growth.

“Having been involved in medtech and biosciences for decades, I’ve rarely seen an innovation that can significantly improve an entire class of products, in this case, all surgical cutting instruments,” said Matt Likens, a Planatome board advisor and former CEO of both GT Medical Technologies Inc. and Ulthera Inc. “This agreement puts Planatome’s technology squarely inside one of medtech’s next great competitive battlegrounds, where new entrants are intensifying the race for a foothold. Competitors that act aggressively and decisively will benefit both clinically and financially by adopting this highly differentiated technology.”

About Planatome LLC

Planatome LLC is privately held and headquartered in Phoenix. Its patented nano-polishing platform was adapted from semiconductor manufacturing and is licensed to industry leaders to create the world’s most advanced surgical cutting instruments.

Planatome began as a spinoff of Entrepix Inc., a semiconductor company that developed the world’s largest portfolio of semiconductor nano-polishing processes. Tim Tobin, Planatome’s CEO, co-founded Entrepix and spun its medical technology out as an independent company in 2020. Following the 2023 sale of Entrepix Inc. to Amtech Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: ASYS), the medical company was renamed Planatome LLC. The Planatome name, a hybrid of the Latin plāna (“flat” or “smooth”) and the Greek tomē (“cut” or “slice”), reflects the technology at its core.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements, including statements about possible future events, expected timing and possible future agreements. There is no assurance that any will occur on the timeline described or at all.

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