Purpose To characterize venture capital (VC) investments in orthopaedic surgery over the past 25 years to evaluate trends in global innovation. Methods All VC investments related to orthopaedic surgery between January 2000 and December 2024 were retrospectively evaluated using the PitchBook database (PitchBook Platform, PitchBook Data. Seattle, WA). The headquarter location of each company was reviewed. The year of each investment deal and investment size (US dollars) were aggregated. Deals were also evaluated with respect to funding category (surgical devices, biotechnology, drug discovery, hospital management/technology, medical equipment). Descriptive statistics, compound annual growth rate, 2‐sample t‐ tests, and regression analysis were conducted. Results A total of 9. 7 billion (in 2025 USD) in VC funding was invested in orthopaedic surgery, consisting of 1506 distinct deals. VC funding has steadily increased since 2000, most notably between 2020 and 2024, with 49. 8% (750) of deals (P <. 001) and 71% of total funding (7. 8 billion) (P =. 024). Privately held companies made 98% (1481) of deals. Surgical devices led VC investment with 34% (514) of deals totaling 3. 5 billion, with biotechnology following with 30% (457) of deals for 3. 3 billion. These 2 categories saw significantly more investments than the remaining categories (P <. 001). Orthopaedic companies physically based in the United States of America (USA) received the most funding (811 deals, 6. 9 billion). China, Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada, and South Korea followed, though with significantly fewer investments than the USA (P <. 001). Conclusions VC funding in orthopaedic surgery has steadily increased over the past 25 years, largely concentrated in the United States, with a dramatic increase in the past 5 years driven by interest in orthobiologic therapies and digital health. Clinical Relevance VC investment trends in orthopaedic surgery appear to mirror many of the broader macroeconomic forces seen in the health care sector and have a direct impact on future development, innovation, and clinical practice within orthopaedic surgery.
Sridharan et al. (2026) studied this question.