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Funding the MEMS Product Development Journey

budgeting, and having regular communica-
Resource for MEMS Entrepreneurs tion about progress and upcoming needs all
help to keep the money flowing. Any gaps
in funding will waste valuable momentum,
We were motivated to write our new book, “MEMS Product Development: From Con- ultimately leading to more expense and delay
cept to Commercialization” (Springer, 2021), after having had the same conversations in the overall product development. It can
over and over again with many clients. MEMS entrepreneurs often come from grad- become especially damaging when the wait
uate programs or from outside of the semiconductor industry. We realized that their for money forces the foundry to stop work,
lack of familiarity with electronic product integration and wafer-based manufacturing because processes go stale after a few months,
was leading to disappointing outcomes, usually resulting from a too-optimistic devel- and during busy times, your product could be
opment plan that didn’t factor in enough time and budget. We aim to help future sent to the back of the foundry’s queue.
entrepreneurs get the resources they need in order to have a successful journey As experienced outdoors people know, to
through the wilderness of MEMS development. — A.M.F. and C.D.W.
have an enjoyable wilderness adventure, you
must be informed about where you are going,
anticipate common risks, and then prepare
storms or a pandemic disrupt supply chains. carefully plan and set its investors’ expecta- accordingly. It’s the same in MEMS product
Add some buffer time to your development tions for realistic outcomes in order to best development. Having a better understanding
timeline for managing unexpected delays, manage tranche funding. of the timeline and funding required to reach
and be sure to secure the funding to sustain A common crisis for startup companies commercialization and planning ahead are
your company through them. Delayed occurs when investors provide only enough essential for a successful journey. ■
market introduction of a new product budget to execute the very first run at a
causes additional burden on a company’s foundry and then demand to see functional REFERENCE
finances because the fixed overhead costs chips before providing the next tranche. 1 A.M. Fitzgerald, C.D. White, and C. Chung (2021).
of the entire organization will continue to The aim of the first wafer run by a foundry “MEMS Product Development: From Concept to
consume cash while the company awaits the is not to produce working chips but to begin Commercialization.” Springer. bit.ly/3oLRm9q
product launch. the year-long process of setting up for
Of course, investors and executives won’t high-volume manufacturing. The first wafers Alissa M. Fitzgerald is founder and
provide the entire development funding in are unlikely to yield well, or at all, putting managing member at A.M. Fitzgerald &
one sum. They prefer to give money in stages the startup at great risk with its frustrated Associates LLC.
or tranches and demand some predetermined investors.
criteria or demonstration be met before they Setting investors’ and executives’ expec- Carolyn D. White is a senior associate at
will release more funds. A company must tations correctly from the start, realistic A.M. Fitzgerald & Associates LLC.

MARKET & TECHNOLOGY TRENDS
The Tech-Enabled Future of Surgery

By John Koon
Robotics, AI, and 5G developers are handing surgeons and diagnosticians
promising new tools for safer, lower-cost procedures.

nnovation and technology advance- surgeries, patients who are unable to travel rising from US$3.9 billion to US$6.5 billion.
ments are transforming medicine. Drugs will still be able to access care. And although Recently, many surgical robotic systems
are becoming safer and more effective, noninvasive surgeries require greater have appeared alongside U.S.-based Intuitive’s
Idiagnoses are becoming timelier and precision, they reduce the risk of infection, pioneering da Vinci systems. For example,
more accurate, and minimally invasive or including the risk that a patient will infect the University of Oxford’s Preceyes Surgical
noninvasive procedures have been developed others during transport. System has been tested on actual eye-surgery
that minimize pain, risk of complications, patients. The CorPath System from Corindus,
recovery times, and cost compared with ROBOTIC SURGERY a Siemens Healthineers company, uses virtual
traditional surgery. In 2010, a team in the U.S. demonstrated the reality to help doctors get on-site training and
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought other da Vinci robotic surgical system by operating prepare for remote surgery. With 3D modeling
challenges and priorities to light. Keeping on a grape. Just over a decade later, surgeons capability, the Mako SmartRobotics system
in-person hospital visits to a minimum can and surgical teams have used robotic arms from U.S.-based Stryker has been applied in
prevent cross-infection among doctors and in thousands of operations and are using knee and hip surgeries. Designed and built in
patients. Remote consultations, conducted surgery simulators to plan and prepare for the U.K., CMR Surgical’s Versius system has
with HD clarity, can reduce congestion in complex procedures in various special- obtained European health and safety approval
hospitals and medical offices while enabling ties. According to a market research report and has completed approximately 1,000
doctors to consult with physicians in other by MarketsandMarkets, the global market operations.
locations, expanding the knowledge res- for surgical robots will grow at a compound Robotic surgery is expected to continue to
ervoir. As 5G and robotics enable remote annual rate of 10.4% between 2018 and 2023, gain momentum.

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