Boston, MA, Oct. 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- VitVio, an AI-powered platform that autonomously coordinates operating room staff, flags delays, and reduces the administrative load on surgical teams, has closed an $8M seed round. The oversubscribed round was led by returning investor Bek Ventures (fka Earlybird Digital East) with participation from early backers LDV Capital and Tiny Supercomputer Investment Company, as well as new investors Balnord, Thornapple River Capital, healthcare thought-leader Joe Mullings and Mati Staniszewski, founder of the voice AI unicorn ElevenLabs. The round brings VitVio’s total funding to $10M and will be used to expand across U.S. hospitals.
Operating rooms represent roughly 40% of hospital expenses and up to 60% of total revenue, placing them at the core of financial performance.[1] Yet inefficiencies in scheduling, resource utilization, and case turnover contribute an estimated $1,800 in unplanned costs per surgery[2] - or about $1.4 million annually per OR - adding up to $50 billion in avoidable cost impact across the U.S.[3] At the same time, hospitals continue to face increasing operational pressure from aging populations, rising costs, personnel shortages and post-surgical resource demands.
VitVio’s platform helps hospital and perioperative leaders mitigate these strains by automating the capture and analysis of intra-operative data and visualizing, predicting, and improving operational performance.
VitVio leverages AI, computer vision and ambient sensing technologies to digitize operating rooms in 3D, in real-time, to understand who is doing what, when, where and why. Based on that input, AI agents automate routine tasks like logging surgical phases (patient arrival, incision, wound closure, etc.) and coordinating staff across the perioperative process - making sure people are informed, aligned, and orchestrated autonomously. The intelligent system also delivers real-time estimates for case completion and issues dynamic alerts for deviations from standard procedure. All patient data is anonymized at the point of capture and securely handled with end-to-end encryption. By integrating a secure dashboard within hospital information systems, VitVio provides actionable data on utilization, case flow, and resource allocation, so that hospitals can identify bottlenecks, reduce waste, and strengthen scheduling precision - translating directly into measurable efficiency and financial impact.
“We backed VitVio at pre-seed and came back for the seed for one reason: we're seeing measurable differences in how operating rooms actually run with this technology. This isn't theoretical AI; it's operationally impactful technology that pays for itself.” said Cem Sertoglu, Managing Partner at Bek Ventures. “We're confident VitVio will be one of the companies that defines AI's role in the OR.”
“As early believers in VitVio’s AI-driven platform to enhance operating room efficiency, we at LDV Capital are thrilled to lead their pre-seed and invest in their seed round. Their real-time technology will help hospitals boost ROI and enable clinicians to focus on patient care,” commented Evan Nisselson, Founder and General Partner at LDV Capital.
“Having been in the industry for over three decades, I know that while tech is important, it’s the team behind it that truly drives success - and this team has what it takes,” said Joe Muillings. “VitVio is using AI to revolutionize how ORs function, and it’s clear they’re building something that could change the game in healthcare.”
“Hospitals everywhere are under immense pressure - escalating expenses, demographic shifts, and ongoing staffing constraints are stretching systems to the limit,” said Thomas Knox, Co-Founder and CEO of VitVio. “VitVio gives hospitals a way out of that cycle. By automating the administrative load that drains time and margin, we help clinicians focus on patients and help hospitals operate sustainably."
VitVio’s co-founders - Thomas Knox (CEO), Dr. Peter Rennert (CTO), Maks Kozarzewski (COO), and Aleks Pajewski (CPO) - are veteran technologists with a proven record of advancing innovation across industries including travel (Kiwi.com, Hyperloop), IoT (VusionGroup), and autonomous retail (AiFi, Standard AI). Their collective expertise has supported global deployments with partners such as Aldi, Walmart, Dollar General, Circle K, Carrefour and many more. Their expertise building real-time, AI-powered IoT operations at scale fuels VitVio’s mission to bring the same level of efficiency and visibility to hospital operating rooms.
The investment will drive VitVio’s expansion plans, including growing its team across engineering, operations, and other key areas to meet increasing demand.
About VitVio
VitVio uses computer vision and ambient sensing to digitize operating rooms in 3D in real-time, providing clarity on who is doing what, when, and why during surgery. The system then deploys AI agents to handle routine tasks - like automatically logging surgical phases, coordinating staff, and preparing op-notes. The aim is to improve hospital ROI by increasing the OR utilization rate, improving billing accuracy, and reducing administrative burden on medical teams, so that clinicians can focus on what matters most: the patient.
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About Bek Ventures
Bek Ventures is a global venture capital firm accompanying a select group of early-stage founders from their earliest days to global scale with relentless, hands-on support. Currently in its second decade, Bek has backed multi-billion-dollar successes such as UiPath and Payhawk and been recognized as the top-performing VC globally by HEC / Dow Jones, consecutively in 2024 and 2025. Bek has offices in London, New York, Luxembourg and Istanbul.
About LDV Capital
LDV Capital is a thesis-driven early-stage venture fund investing in people building businesses powered by visual technology that leverage computer vision, machine learning and artificial intelligence to analyze visual data. Deep knowledge of the domain, extensive expert network and unique platform initiatives have made LDV Capital a leader in the visual tech ecosystem. Led by serial entrepreneur Evan Nisselson, LDV Capital has been investing in pre-seed and seed-stage teams across North America and Europe since 2012.
About Balnord
Balnord is a high-conviction early stage investor in frontier technologies and dual use. Focused primarily on the Baltic Sea Region founders, Balnord backs companies solving the hardest problems, laying the foundation for Europe's reindustrialization and technological autonomy in verticals such as space, healthcare/bio, semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, among others. Utilizing our ex-entrepreneur and operator background, we help founders build companies that matter from pre-seed to exit and beyond.
About Thornapple River Capital
Building and investing in early-stage companies driving tomorrow: Thornapple River Capital is a closely held investment partnership that invests in and supports teams across healthcare, biotech, medical devices, AI/ML, deeptech, alt. transport, and more.
About Tiny Supercomputer Investment Company
Tiny Supercomputer Investment Company invests in great companies when they’re tiny. Since 2017, TSIC has backed over 400 companies, partnering with ambitious and technical founders from day one. The portfolio includes companies like Wayve, Synthesia, 11x, and Prisma.
About Joe Mullings
Joe Mullings is a highly accomplished entrepreneur, thought leader, advisor, keynote speaker, investor, media contributor, and board member. He is the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of The Mullings Group Companies, which include The Mullings Group (TMG) Search and the 9x award-winning media production company, Dragonfly. Under his leadership, the firm has become an industry pioneer. TMG has successfully placed more than 9,000 executives with over 900 MedTech companies worldwide. By integrating marketing and media into talent access strategies via Dragonfly, he has created the world’s first executive search firm that seamlessly combines recruitment with storytelling and brand-building.
About Mati Staniszewski
Mati Staniszewski is the co-founder and CEO of ElevenLabs, an innovative AI audio startup. Under his leadership, ElevenLabs has grown from an idea to a $6B+ AI audio powerhouse backed by Sequoia, NEA, and NVIDIA — redefining how the world creates and experiences voice. His commitment to combating deepfakes and enhancing the positive applications of AI technology underscores his forward-thinking approach in the rapidly evolving audio AI landscape.
[1] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1055858618300040
[2] https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2022/broad-research-moves-the-needle-for-health-care
[3] Figure based on an average of 744 procedures per operating room annually, amounting to approximately $1.4 million per year per OR. Considering the 35,870 operating rooms in the US hospitals, these inefficiencies sum up to $50 billion annually. This does not include 19,000 ambulatory surgery centers across the US.
Attachments
Thomas Knox VitVio +1 (954) 214-1485 Thomas.Knox@VitVio.com
