Remembering Julian Nikolchev

01/09/2024

It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of Julian Nikolchev, the founding leader of Intuitive Ventures.

Julian joined Intuitive Surgical in 2019, bringing 25 years of experience in medical device technology startups and health innovation. He delivered on his vision to bring together Intuitive’s research and business development groups, and to initiate Intuitive Ventures in 2020.

Intuitive Ventures flourished under Julian’s stewardship, and over four short years, funds available for investment have grown from $100 million to $250 million. Over that period, Intuitive Ventures has invested in more than 10 transformative startups.  

Broadly,  we celebrate Julian’s impact and legacy as a technologist and mentor. During his career he developed novel technologies and products in the field of arthroscopy, orthopedics, women’s health, interventional cardiology, neuroradiology, and minimally invasive care.   

He had been named inventor or co-inventor on more than 35 issued or pending patents. He founded and co-founded several medical device companies, including Pivot Medical, CardioMind, and ProDuct Health, while also serving on the Board of Directors for several others.    

We will deeply miss him and his inspiration.   

We will plan to honor him and his family by continuing our work to connect entrepreneurs with capital and relationships that help improve health around the world.