Robeauté

Robeauté is a French medical technology company developing a microrobotic platform intended to access, characterise and treat brain tissue. Its core device, called Dot, is roughly the size of a grain of rice (miniaturised to a final 1.8 mm diameter) and is designed to travel along curved, non-linear paths through brain tissue rather than the straight trajectories imposed by conventional rigid surgical instruments. Dot combines a flexible propeller, a steering unit for 3D movement, a micro engine, a tracking unit, an ultra-thin microwire tether and interchangeable cargo extensions that determine the task performed.

The platform is organised around three planned functions — diagnose, treat and monitor. Announced extensions include Dot.Biopsy, a smart biopsy device intended to take multiple spatially localised tissue samples; Dot.Drug, a microdelivery system for depositing therapeutic cargo at a target site; and Dot.Electrode, an electrode for stimulation aimed at conditions such as Parkinson's disease and treatment-resistant depression. The microrobot operates with two other system components: CAP, a launcher and tracking unit handling deployment, retrieval and sub-millimetric localisation, and MOM, a surgical console integrating imaging, planning and navigation and connected in real time to the microrobot. Each procedure is intended to generate site-specific and patient-specific data on the shared infrastructure.

The device has not been evaluated by the FDA or a European notified body, has no FDA clearance or CE marking, and is not approved for clinical use or commercial sale. Work is at the preclinical stage, with peer-reviewed preclinical studies published on 3D neuronavigation with the microrobot (2024) and microrobotic local solid drug delivery in the brain (2025), and first-in-human studies targeted following continued regulatory engagement in the US and Europe.

Founding story

Robeauté was founded in 2017 in Paris by Bertrand Duplat and Joana Cartocci. Duplat, a robotics engineer and serial entrepreneur, lost his mother to glioblastoma and encountered the limits of existing treatment; with Cartocci, a deeptech operations leader, he set out to build a microrobot able to navigate the brain and treat disease from within. The first proof of concept drew on how bacteria move at small scales, on miniaturising a heartbeat to power the motor, and on rocket structure; the company's first office was in the AP-HP Hôtel-Dieu hospital in central Paris.

Business model

Robeauté is a pre-commercial medical device developer. It is building a single microrobotic platform (Dot microrobot, CAP launcher/tracking unit and MOM console) on which multiple clinical applications — biopsy, drug delivery, electrode implantation — are intended to run, with each new application adding to the same core infrastructure. It also offers R&D collaboration and clinical advisory partnerships with clinical and research groups.

The device is not approved for clinical use and is not for commercial sale; the company has been financed by equity and non-dilutive funding. It has identified data generated by the platform — site-specific and patient-specific live data — as valuable to pharmaceutical companies developing brain therapeutics, and describes later phases in partnership with pharmaceutical companies and research institutions.

Traction

The company reports more than €40 million raised in equity and non-dilutive funding since inception, 50+ patents covering foundational device features, and progress miniaturising the microrobot to 1.8 mm. Preclinical validation includes published ex-vivo 3D neuronavigation work (April 2024) and a first preclinical study of microrobotic local solid drug delivery in the brain (January 2025). Headcount grew to 33 people from over 10 countries during 2025, with the company describing a team of 40+ engineers, operators and scientists. It secured European and French national non-dilutive funding and was named to the French Tech 2030 cohort in November 2025. Awards include runner-up for technology innovation at Les Trophées Santé Future 2025 and first place (Coup de cœur du jury) at the Paris Saclay Cancer Cluster Innovation Forum in February 2025.

Latest developments

In January 2025 Robeauté closed a $28 million (€27M) Series A led by Plural, Cherry Ventures and Kindred Ventures, with LocalGlobe, Think.Health, existing investor APEX Ventures and medical technology company Brainlab participating; proceeds are directed at US expansion, human trials and FDA approval preparation. In 2026 the company opened a San Francisco office ahead of first-in-human studies, was selected as a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer 2026 (June 2026), and published an item on building the next generation of physical AI with Google DeepMind (June 2026).