Intuitive Surgical vs Smith+Nephew: Medical & surgical compared

November 2026 edition · assessment by Frontier Tech Intelligence

Intuitive Surgical ranks 1 on the Robotics 100 with a score of 100; Smith+Nephew ranks 65 with 81. Intuitive Surgical is ahead on deployment, production, commercials, progress, technology, positioning and leverage. Level on firepower. Intuitive Surgical is based in Sunnyvale, United States, Smith+Nephew in Watford, United Kingdom. Intuitive Surgical: Established. Smith+Nephew: Established. Intuitive Surgical is named in 12 signals and Smith+Nephew in 2.

Intuitive Surgical →

Sunnyvale, California, United States · Robotics · Systems / Medical & surgical · Established · intuitive.com

Intuitive Surgical develops and sells da Vinci robotic surgical systems, including the da Vinci 5 platform cleared for cardiac procedures. Its core business is medical and surgical robotics.

Robotics 100 · rank 1 · score 100

Scores, Robotics (of 10)

Deployment10
Production10
Commercials10
Progress10
Technology10
Positioning10
Firepower10
Leverage10

Darker bar: ahead of the other company on that measure.

Positioning

Intuitive Surgical is the US surgical-robotics leader with an installed base of 11,710 da Vinci and 1,096 Ion systems (468 placed in Q2-26 alone) and 14M cumulative procedures. Q2-26 revenue was $2.89B (+19%, 85% recurring) with procedures up 16%, a fast da Vinci 5 ramp (246 placed), and H1 free cash flow of $1.8B (+71%), with guidance raised. It is the top-scored company on the list.

Latest signals

  • El Camino Health Heart and Vascular Institute began performing robotic coronary bypass surgery with Intuitive Surgical’s da Vinci system.The Robot Report
  • Nenye Anagbogu joined Avatar Robotics after previously working with founder Colin Webb.The AI Insider
  • Intuitive Surgical generated $10.06 billion in FY2025 revenue, up 21% year over year.The AI Insider

12 signals name Intuitive Surgical.

Facts, with sources

  • Sonder CapitalThe Robot Report
  • Funding round led by Sonder CapitalThe Robot Report
  • Q1-2026 sales growthMassDevice

12 facts on file.

Smith+Nephew →

Watford, England, United Kingdom · Robotics · Systems / Medical & surgical · Established · smith-nephew.com

Smith+Nephew develops and sells the CORI Surgical System, a robotic-assisted platform for orthopedic surgery. Its medical robotics business qualifies as a medical and surgical robotics system.

Robotics 100 · rank 65 · score 81

Scores, Robotics (of 10)

Deployment8
Production8
Commercials8
Progress8
Technology8
Positioning8
Firepower10
Leverage6

Darker bar: ahead of the other company on that measure.

Positioning

Smith+Nephew's CORI handheld robotic platform (within the LSE:SN group) covers revision knee, hip, and shoulder procedures in hospital and ASC settings, with CORI XT first clinical cases in June 2026 (shoulder arthroplasty at Duke Health, knee at NYU Langone). It showcased handheld robotics at AAOS 2026. CORI-specific revenue is not broken out of the group.

Latest signals

  • CMR Surgical appoints Massimiliano Colella as Chief Executive Officer.CMR Surgical
  • CMR Surgical appointed Michelle Paknad as Senior Vice President, Global Business Development.CMR Surgical

2 signals name Smith+Nephew.

Facts, with sources

  • Smith+Nephew reported double-digit growth in global CORI surgical system installations in the first half of 2026.investegate.co.uk
  • Smith+Nephew H1 2026 revenue was $3,097M, up 2.3% underlying; Orthopaedics fell 0.1% and full-year growth guidance was cut to about 4% from about 6%.investegate.co.uk
  • Smith+Nephew completed first clinical cases with next-generation CORI XT handheld robot: shoulder at Duke Health and a Scottsdale ASC, knee at NYU Langone.massdevice.com

10 facts on file.

More comparisons

Questions this page answers

Intuitive Surgical or Smith+Nephew: which is ahead in robotics?

Intuitive Surgical ranks 1 on the Robotics 100 with a score of 100; Smith+Nephew ranks 65 with 81. Intuitive Surgical is ahead on deployment, production, commercials, progress, technology, positioning and leverage. Level on firepower. Intuitive Surgical is based in Sunnyvale, United States, Smith+Nephew in Watford, United Kingdom. Intuitive Surgical: Established. Smith+Nephew: Established. Intuitive Surgical is named in 12 signals and Smith+Nephew in 2.

How do Intuitive Surgical and Smith+Nephew compare?

Intuitive Surgical ranks 1 on the Robotics 100 with a score of 100; Smith+Nephew ranks 65 with 81. Intuitive Surgical is ahead on deployment, production, commercials, progress, technology, positioning and leverage. Level on firepower. Intuitive Surgical is based in Sunnyvale, United States, Smith+Nephew in Watford, United Kingdom. Intuitive Surgical: Established. Smith+Nephew: Established. Intuitive Surgical is named in 12 signals and Smith+Nephew in 2. Both company files carry the scores on eight measures, the facts with sources and the latest signals.

Every comparison here comes from the same files members use every day.

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