Technology

Posted on March 27, 2020 by staff

Canadian XR firm receives £280k for MediaCity expansion

Technology

Marion Surgical has received a £280,000 investment from GC Angels, part of the Growth Company and an angel investor, alongside grant funding from Innovate UK, following an introduction from MIDAS, Manchester’s Inward Investment Agency.

The Canadian firm enables surgeons to learn, collaborate, practice and share procedures in virtual reality, and has recently set up a UK entity based at The Landing in MediaCityUK, Salford.

It has now announced plans to relocate some of its Canadian team to the region as well as hiring locally.

The firm is forecast to generate a revenue of $20m by 2022 and has partnerships with blue chip medical device companies and has facilitated advanced surgical training courses at the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland (RCSI).

The funding will be used for Marion Surgical’s latest project – augmented reality development to create an MR camera.

The MR camera is a previsualisation tool for film professionals to creatw 360 degree and multi-media content production. The new IP will allow the firm to create five new jobs immediately and the company’s subsequent growth plan will lead to 20 new roles within five years.

This investment has been funded partly by GC Angels, who were selected by Innovate UK as an Investment Partner for the Immersive Technology Investment Accelerator.

Ben Sainsbury, CEO of Marion Surgical, said: “This investment signifies a really important time for the business, with the Canadian office expanding to MediaCityUK, creating jobs and fuelling expansion plans.

“The creation of our new MR camera highlights the importance of the work we are doing for innovation within the sector, and we have big plans for the future – creating jobs in the North West and supporting new technologies.”