Cover Story: Vision Beyond the Visible: Intuitive Ventures’ Murielle Thinard McLane and Terri Burke

At Intuitive Ventures, Managing Partner Murielle Thinard McLane and Senior Partner Terri Burke bring a rare edge to medtech investing: the ability to see around corners. Drawing on decades of experience as operators, startup CEOs, and healthcare executives, they understand how today’s decisions reverberate years into the future. Recent wins, including an impressive $1.5 billion exit, illustrate the fund’s mission, uniquely positioned at the crossroads of bold financial returns and transformational impact on patient care.

Thinard McLane and Burke’s lived experience fuels the philosophy of the forward-thinking venture capital firm, Intuitive Ventures. Modeling its Intuitive Surgical heritage, the goal is to back bold teams where the physical and digital delivery of patient care meet, with grounded judgment, relentless focus, and a deep commitment to improving patient lives. With $250 million under management and access to Intuitive’s global reach, Intuitive Ventures’ focus spans medtech, diagnostics, and digital health. The team blends venture discipline with clinical empathy, spotlighting founders who aren’t just building companies, but reshaping the trajectory of patient care in parallel with Intuitive’s transformative impact on surgical robotics. 

Despite shifting macro conditions, Intuitive Ventures’ ability to flex across company stages and therapeutic areas has allowed it to stay both nimble and disciplined, with in-house expertise seemingly tailor-made for today’s complex environment. 

Together, Thinard McLane and Burke are co-creating the firm’s platform to be uniquely positioned for financial return as well as meaningful health transformation. Added to its past investments, the fund has made four recent deals, including with Apreo Health and OrganOx (the latter just acquired by Terumo for $1.5 billion), with the other two in stealth mode. 

“We continue to be excited about medtech,” says Thinard McLane. “We’re architecting a fund that is financially motivated yet strategically bold, focused on the future of minimally invasive care. Our recent investments speak to the most transformative technologies out there that are addressing large unmet needs around the world, both from the patient and the physician’s point of view.”

“We are very busy. Venture capital really has no downtime,” noted Burke. “The best deals have a lot of interest and engagement, and they move quickly. At Intuitive Ventures, we pride ourselves on being able to move at the pace of the market. Investment fundamentals are strong, and we’re seeing both later-stage and transformative early-stage opportunities emerge. Good ideas still win.” The Lens caught up with the two powerhouse leaders recently to peer inside their current venture strategy, powered by experience, agile flexibility, purpose, and a patient-first vision. 

Seeing Around Corners: The Power of Lived Experience and Community

Thinard McLane and Burke are a rare breed in venture capital, as investors who have personally experienced the volatility, urgency, and grit of building healthcare companies.

“I’ve lived business cycles,” says Burke. “You select a strategy and have to live with the consequences. That teaches you to anticipate pitfalls and see around corners.”

“I’ve been in their shoes,” Thinard McLane echoed. “Raising money, navigating timelines, launching under pressure. It changes how you evaluate teams and plans.”

That operator empathy is foundational to the duo’s approach at Intuitive Ventures. It shapes how they evaluate companies, engage with founders, and add value beyond capital.

Both Thinard McLane and Burke have stood on the frontlines of healthcare innovation. Thinard McLane, who joined Intuitive Ventures in 2023, brings a depth of experience across digital health tech, digital health, diagnostics, and biotech domains, leading investments in companies at the intersection of physical and digital delivery of patient care. She has spent over two decades as an investor, entrepreneur, and Fortune 500 executive, most recently serving as CEO of molecular diagnostics company, Ontera, and as co-founder of Nooma Bio, a life science tools platform focused on detecting cytogenetic abnormalities. 

Thinard McLane started her foray into venture capital as an Executive in Residence for GE Ventures, where she helped launch Verana Health, which is assembling the largest clinical database in medicine empowering physicians and accelerating research for patients. Previously, she was a General Manager at McKesson, where she oversaw multi-billion-dollar P&Ls spanning therapeutics, surgical supplies, services, and data analytics, and prior to that served in strategy and leadership roles at Genentech, Novartis, and Optum. 

Burke’s background is also well-rounded, with more than two decades of medtech investing and operational leadership experience. This includes roles as a medtech institutional investor and hands-on operator at both public companies and early-stage startups. Prior to joining Intuitive Ventures this past March, Burke was a venture partner and head of medtech investments at Epidarex Capital, where she led the firm’s Fund III US/UK investment strategy, deal flow, and medtech brand. She also previously co-founded and served as CEO at Protaryx Medical, a pioneering structural heart and electrophysiology company. Previously, Burke served in various senior leadership roles at Edwards Lifesciences, including Vice President of Global Marketing and Business Development, where she streamlined and re-focused the heart valve business to help drive growth. 

Burke is also committed to supporting the women in the venture capital community, and is a co-organizer of the “Women in VC” networking event held at LSI and other medtech ecosystem events. At LSI USA ‘25, both Burke and Thinard McLane participated in the session and noted the growing momentum in gender diversity and the importance of creating space for connection.

“It was a wonderful launch of the Women in VC event at LSI, a big conference that has the critical mass of people that can then bring together a subset of investors,” says Burke (note that both Thinard McLane and Burke have participated in panel discussions at past LSI events). 

“The idea behind it was simply to build a community across partner-level women in venture capital, so that we’re comfortable knowing each other and having conversations,” she continues. “I will say that the VC community is quite friendly and collaborative, but we found that there are fewer women partners across the ecosystem. With the support of LSI and Knobbe Martens, we’ve been able to create a space where everyone can get together and share some energy around what we’re doing in this space. We’ve hosted a few events since then, and have met other women partners and leaders across funds. There’s power in those numbers. We’re building it fairly organically, but we like that it is casual and comfortable for a lot of the women in VC to participate in. We extend it to our male colleagues as well to join us, so it’s not exclusively just for women.”

Intuitive Ventures: Transformational Vision and Clear Criteria 

Founded in 2020, Intuitive Ventures is the independent venture arm of Intuitive Surgical, the robotic surgery pioneer behind the da Vinci platform (see “The Rich History and Bold Future of Intuitive: Inside Gary Guthart’s Vision for Robotics and Healthcare,” The Lens, April 2025). Yet unlike traditional corporate venture capital models, Intuitive Ventures operates with the rigor and independence of a financial VC fund. With over $250 million in assets under management, the firm seeks to invest in early-stage companies that align with its mission to accelerate the growth of advanced healthcare, fueling breakthroughs with the capital needed to improve outcomes and deliver more efficient care.

“What Gary Guthart and Julian Nikolchev envisioned was a real fund that is return-driven, but one that could pursue truly transformational technology,” says Thinard McLane. “That resonated deeply with me, having been a founder myself.”

For entrepreneurs, this dual identity is powerful. It means access to world-class clinical, technical, and commercial expertise, without the pressure or expectation of acquisition.

Every company in Intuitive Ventures’ growing portfolio reflects the firm’s core values: advancing positive patient outcomes, improving provider experience, and reshaping how care is delivered through technology and innovation. 

Thinard McLane outlined the fund’s investment framework, focusing on three key areas: 1) expanding access and care coordination through solutions that bridge physical and digital barriers to improve patient outcomes, 2) precision diagnostics and intervention using technologies tailored for earlier detection and targeted treatment, and 3) big data and digital enablers that leverage data to power these strategic initiatives.

When assessing investments, the team starts with unmet clinical needs and the size of the market opportunity. They then evaluate defensibility (IP, differentiation) and, above all, the team.

“At the end of the day, you’re betting on the team to be successful,” she says. “A dealbreaker is if we don’t believe they can take it to the next stage, or if they’re not collaborative and willing to take feedback.”

So what are the non-negotiables when Intuitive Ventures evaluates a company?  

• Transformational potential: Does the innovation address a major unmet need? Can it touch a million lives?
• Exceptional teams: Are the leaders humble, hungry, and able to execute? Are they coachable, bold, and resilient?
• Clear milestones: Is there a line-of-sight to value inflection points? Can the company secure follow-on capital?
•  Investor alignment: Are the co-investors aligned for the long haul, including the long timelines that PMA products can demand?

Thinard McLane and Burke also look for strong syndicate partners. “It’s increasingly important to have a good syndicate because rounds take a little longer to fill, and the timeline to exit is a little longer. Having expertise and deep pockets around the table really helps companies thrive,” says Burke.

“Transformation takes time and money,” adds Thinard McLane. “The best ideas need the right teams, syndicates, and patience to succeed.”

Capital Plus: More Than a Check

The Intuitive Ventures model is “capital plus”: funding but with a deep bench of value-added support across clinical development, regulatory strategy, commercial planning, and technical mentorship. Burke emphasized how unusual this level of engagement is in venture capital.

“We spend a lot of time with our portfolio companies,” she says. “Our investment committee members, even senior leaders with decades of experience, will jump in to help on clinical, regulatory, product development, and business strategy with our portfolio companies. That reach is a true differentiator.”

“We bring institutional rigor to what we do,” adds Thinard McLane. “We partner well as a significant member in these deals, and we support companies all the way through to exit. We help them find lab space, map their reimbursement pathways, and connect with community physicians.” 

The team even surveys its CEOs annually to measure the firm’s effectiveness, which is a rare practice among funds.

“We run our own NPS [Net Promoter Score] survey,” Thinard McLane explained. “That’s how serious we are. We want to know how we’re doing, where we can improve, and how to better support our CEOs. It’s not just a check. It’s about leveraging our network and expertise to help them succeed.”

The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with the fund ranked best-in-class in value-add by its portfolio leaders.

“We take that role seriously,” added Burke. “We want to be the kind of investor founders seek out for the long haul.”

Recent Transformative Bets

Today, each startup in Intuitive Ventures’ portfolio represents the future of healthcare, with smarter, more precise, and more connected technology. They all share a minimally invasive ethos, platform potential, and teams capable of execution. Recently announced deals illustrate the team’s ability to spot and support exceptional technologies, and now, the firm has its name attached to a $1.5 billion exit.

In March, Intuitive Ventures joined OrganOx’s final private round to accelerate commercialization of its metra Normothermic Machine Perfusion (NMP) platform for donor livers, along with HealthQuest Capital, Lauxera Capital, and Terumo Ventures. Together with the first closing of its private placement in February, OrganOx, which was spun out of the University of Oxford in 2008, raised $160 million in primary and secondary equity financing to accelerate growth opportunities for its metra technology platform in the large and rapidly expanding organ technology global market.

And now, this investment has just converted to one of the largest-ever deals in the UK medtech sector, and one of the biggest Oxford spinouts. In late August, global medtech giant Terumo announced its strategic entry into the high-potential organ transplantation sector by entering a definitive agreement to acquire OrganOx for $1.5 billion.

OrganOx’s metra device was FDA-cleared in 2021 and launched in the U.S. the following year. It has also obtained regulatory approvals in the EU, UK, Australia, and Canada, and is commercialized in all these regions. To date, metra has been used in over 6,000 liver transplant procedures worldwide. OrganOx is also developing a kidney NMP device, with commercialization targeted around 2030. 

“OrganOx is transforming the way organ transplants are done, and is soon expanding beyond liver transplantation into kidneys. We’re proud to have been part of their journey to this incredible milestone,” commented Thinard McLane.

Breathing Life into Global Health Crises

In further support of Intuitive Ventures’ keen ability to identify transformative bets early, its investments have extended globally into the areas of respiratory health, heart valve replacement, cancer, sleep apnea, metabolic disease, and other medtech markets with large unmet clinical needs. In August, the firm participated in Apreo Health’s $130M Series B, backing the company’s BREATHE Airway Scaffold for severe emphysema, a condition affecting 3 million patients in the U.S. with very limited treatment options. 

Apreo Health, formed in 2021 out of medtech incubator (and LSI alum) The Foundry, has developed the BREATHE Airway Scaffold, a bronchoscopically delivered, self-expanding implant designed to gently release air trapped in the lungs of patients with severe emphysema. Severe emphysema, a debilitating form of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), is a global health crisis, ranked by the World Health Organization as the fourth-leading cause of death and eighth-leading cause of poor health worldwide. 

“We are quite excited to help support a technology that may completely transform this market, and patients affected by this deadly progressive disease,” says Thinard McLane. 

The financing was co-led by new investors Bain Capital Life Sciences and Norwest, with participation from another new investor, F-Prime. Returning investors Lightstone Ventures and Santé Ventures also participated in the round. The Series B will primarily support BREATHE-3 (Bronchoscopic RElease of Air Trapped in Hyperinflated Emphysematous Lung, Study 3), a multicenter, randomized controlled trial designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the Apreo BREATHE Airway Scaffold. Additionally, the Series B financing will fund regulatory activities related to BREATHE-3 and early commercialization efforts to demonstrate strong market potential. The company’s device was granted FDA Breakthrough Device Designation in May 2024. 

Apreo Health emerged from stealth mode this past May to unveil its airway scaffold device and first-in-human six-month clinical data, with results including a 92.4% technical success rate in device placement and no post-procedural pneumothoraxes observed.  

Intuitive Ventures’ other portfolio companies have also made significant strides in recent months. Earlier this year, Capstan Medical achieved the world’s first robotic-assisted mitral valve replacement in a human, in Chile. In October 2023, Intuitive Ventures participated in an oversubscribed $31.4 million Series B funding round in Capstan, led by Eclipse. (LSI alum Maggie Nixon, CEO of Capstan, brings more than 20 years of experience at Intuitive Surgical, and co-founder and CTO Dan Wallace’s background includes senior roles at Intuitive, Hansen Medical, Auris Health, Cephea Valve Technologies, and others.)

Burke brings deep operating and investment experience in the cardiovascular space, and sees this as an important area for Intuitive Ventures to build upon. “I saw a statistic from the American Heart Association stating that every 34 seconds a patient dies from cardiovascular disease,” she says. “Despite first-rate medications, therapies, and devices, we still haven’t solved it. Those are the types of things we look for, transformative therapies and markets that are really in need of better patient and physician solutions.”

Intuitive Ventures is also focused on early cancer diagnosis, as a specialty area in need of transformative solutions. In October 2022, the fund participated in a $14 million Series A round in Optellum, developer of AI-driven lung nodule detection and early lung cancer diagnosis technology, led by Mercia. This past April, Optellum signed a landmark partnership with Bristol Myers Squibb to advance AI-driven early detection of lung cancer, one of today’s deadliest diseases. Under the agreement, Optellum will apply its AI-powered imaging and clinical decision support platform to evaluate the real-world impact on patient outcomes. The Oxford-based medtech company has been the first and only to achieve FDA 510(k) clearance for the application of AI decision-support software in lung cancer diagnosis, that is reimbursable under the CMS New Technology Ambulatory Payment Classification. 

Other Intuitive Ventures portfolio companies and technologies include: 

• Amber Therapeutics: The first adaptive neuromodulation therapy for mixed urinary incontinence in women.
• Endogenex: Device therapies for GI and metabolic disease processes.
• Flywheel: Comprehensive data management platform accelerating the future of biomedical research and collaboration.
• MedCrypt: Cybersecurity platform protecting software-enabled medical devices.
• SURGE: Platform for extended local delivery of cancer immunotherapy in the context of tumor resection.
• XII Medical: Neuromodulation for obstructive sleep apnea.

“Each of these companies represents a different piece of the future we’re trying to build,” says Burke. “Not just better tools, but better outcomes.”

Looking Ahead: A Platform for Global Transformation

With one-third of its portfolio based in Europe, Intuitive Ventures remains globally minded. At the LSI Europe ‘25 event in London earlier this month, Thinard McLane participated on an insightful panel discussing investment trends in the U.S. versus the EU. 

“There is great technology in Europe,” she says. “OrganOx proves these companies can win, not only for patients but for investors as well. The goal is to be the partner of choice for the most mission-aligned entrepreneurs in healthcare. We want to be known not just for capital, but for conviction.”

As the fund looks ahead, both leaders emphasize cadence and momentum. “We pride ourselves on being active in the market and in the community,” says Burke. “We get to imagine what’s possible, and we get to make it happen. Stay tuned, we have a very active cadence here and we expect a few more investments this year.”

Advice for Innovators

The Lens’ sit-down with these two leaders ended by asking: What advice would they give to early-stage medtech entrepreneurs?

“Dream big, but focus. Be persistent and resilient. Do your homework. Know your investor fit, and be able to clearly communicate your value. And as Terri says, good ideas will win,” offers Thinard McLane.

“Know your market. Be ready to adapt,” adds Burke. “Be willing to make mistakes, and to course-correct. And stay mission-focused through the hard stuff, because it’s coming.” 

ALSO SEE:

“The Rich History and Bold Future of Intuitive: Inside Gary Guthart’s Vision for Robotics and Healthcare,”The Lens, April 2025 

“Solving Wicked Problems at the Intersection of Healthcare and Technology: Insights from Intuitive Foundation’s Catherine Mohr, MD,”The Lens, February 2025

Murielle Thinard McLane
Managing Partner, Intuitive Ventures

Thinard McLane joined Intuitive Ventures in 2023 and brings a depth of experience across digital health tech, digital health, diagnostics, and biotech domains to lead investments in companies that are shaping the future of minimally invasive care throughout the patient continuum.

She is a seasoned operator and executive with over 20 years of experience building and scaling organizations as an investor, entrepreneur, and Fortune 500 executive. She most recently served as CEO of molecular diagnostics company, Ontera, and as co-founder of Nooma Bio, a life science tools platform focused on detecting cytogenetic abnormalities. She started her foray into venture capital as an Executive in Residence for GE Ventures, where she helped launch Verana Health, the largest clinical database in medicine empowering physicians and accelerating research for patients. While there, she also supported investment in Genome Medical, a telehealth provider of genomic medical insights, and Arterys, the first cloud-based deep learning imaging software startup to receive FDA clearance. Previously, she was a General Manager at McKesson, where she oversaw multi-billion-dollar P&Ls spanning therapeutics, surgical supplies, services, and data analytics, and before that served in strategy and leadership roles at Genentech, Novartis, and Optum. 

Passionate about bridging the gender gap in the C-suite of venture-backed companies, she served on Springboard Enterprises’ executive council for pharmaceuticals and digital health, a network dedicated to building high-growth, technology-oriented companies led by women.

Thinard McLane holds an MBA from Wharton and an MS in Finance and the Science of Management from Université de Lyon, and started her career in financial services.

Terri Burke
Senior Partner, Intuitive Ventures 

Burke is Senior Partner at Intuitive Ventures, where she manages and grows the firm’s investment platform by leading investments that advance minimally invasive care. She leverages her deep investment and operating experience to foster the firm’s brand and collaborate with the team to refine its investment strategy.

Burke has more than 20 years of strategic business and investment leadership experience delivering exceptional results in complex markets. Previously, she led the medtech investment strategy and portfolio for Epidarex Capital’s Fund III US/UK. She is also co-founder and former CEO of Protaryx Medical, where she successfully built the company and raised several rounds of financing. Additionally, Burke was a member of the Senior Leadership Team at Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE: EW) and held multiple vice president positions in the heart valve business, including managing a cross-functional technical development program, leading global marketing, and overseeing business development for several strategic acquisitions and partnerships. Burke has prior experience in product marketing with Guidant Corporation and in health economics and reimbursement as a consultant with Covance.

Burke serves as a Board Advisor for Raydiant Oximetry and a Trustee for the Roessler-Chadwick Foundation, a Director for the Roessler-Chadwick Foundation Group, and is an early member of MedtechWOMEN. Terri previously served as a Board Director for Ryme Medical, Radiant Oximetry, Protaryx Medical, and Flashback Technologies (dba Impact Vitals).

Burke holds a B.S. in Biology from Duke University and an MBA from the University of Southern California. She was a member of the Division I field hockey team at Duke and remains active in mentoring student-athletes.

For more insights like this, subscribe to The Lens medtech magazine today.