News
Accepted into USC and Techstars University Catalyst Pre-Accelerator
Pando Surgical has officially been accepted into the USC and Techstars University Catalyst Pre-Accelerator, a high-impact program delivered in partnership with the USC Research and Innovation office. The program officially launched in late August in Los Angeles, bringing together the Pando Surgical leadership team, program directors, and a select cohort of fellow founders for collaborative kickoff sessions. Over the coming weeks, the company will engage in intensive mentorship and strategic development to accelerate its commercialization pathway alongside top-tier, research-backed ventures.
2nd Place, USC Viterbi Min Family Challenge
The Min Family Challenge (MFC) is USC Viterbi's flagship student venture competition, part of tiehub's annual $150K Awards Night, awarding funding to student-founded startups with the strongest potential for real-world impact. At the 2026 MEPC & MFC Awards Night on April 27, our team placed 2nd overall and was also selected by audience vote as one of three finalists to deliver a live three-minute pitch, which we won, bringing a working prototype of the LapRotator to the stage.
Closed $60K Pre-Seed Round
We closed a $60,000 pre-seed round to fund our utility patent filing and kick off the FDA regulatory process, including the testing needed to support that submission. Thank you to everyone who believed in what we're building this early on.
Filing Our Utility Patent
We're working with patent counsel to file a utility patent protecting the core LapRotator mechanism, covering the one-handed rotation drive and control interface. The application is in preparation now, and we expect to submit it soon.