Ottobock invested $5 million as the lead investor in Series A financing for Blue Arbor Technologies, a company developing neuromuscular interfaces and prosthetic control solutions for people with limb loss. Ottobock will hold the position as a major investor and have a seat on Blue Arbor’s board of directors.
The investment builds momentum for the next phase of clinical validation, product development, and commercial readiness of Blue Arbor’s flagship product, the Restore Neuromuscular Interface System. The platform connects advanced prostheses to a patient’s residual muscles and peripheral nerves and is designed to enable independent and simultaneous control of the fingers, wrist, and elbow to unlocking levels of dexterity, speed, and reliability that approach natural limb movement.
Surgeons at the Medical University of Vienna implanted the first patient with the Restore System last year.
“Blue Arbor’s neuromuscular interface represents a highly promising innovation for the next technological leap in prosthetic control—one that aligns perfectly with our mission to enhance human mobility through meaningful innovation,” said Ottobock CEO Oliver Jakobi. “We were impressed by their first-in-human case at the Medical University of Vienna and are excited to partner with them as they move into clinical trials.”
The company’s founders, Paul Cederna, MD, president; Theodore Kung, MD, chief medical officer; and Alex Vaskov, chief technology officer, have collectively been awarded more than $60 million in direct research grant funding, driving the foundational science behind the Restore System and resulting in more than 200 peer-reviewed publications.
The Restore System received Breakthrough Device Designation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and has been accepted into the FDA’s Total Product Life Cycle Advisory Program Pilot.
