Wall Street Wildlife Investing Podcast

E105: Intuitive Surgical’s $200 Billion Moat

Nov 9, 2025
Guest
Professor Prasanna PS Sooriakumaran
In this discussion, Professor Prasanna PS Sooriakumaran, a leading robotic surgeon with extensive experience, dives into the $200 billion robotic surgery market. He shares insights on how robotic procedures dramatically shorten hospital stays and enhance precision. Exploring Intuitive Surgical's dominance, he highlights its '92/8 problem' and unpacks the razor-and-blades business model fueling its revenue. The conversation also covers AI's role in surgery—not as a replacement, but as a tool to enhance surgeons' skills and prevent errors.
Ask episode
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
INSIGHT

Huge Global Access Gap

  • 92% of robotic surgical devices serve only 8% of the world's population.
  • Robotic surgery remains hugely underserved in developing regions.
ANECDOTE

Robotics Transformed Prostate Surgery

  • Professor PS describes shifting from open prostatectomy to robotic prostatectomy with tiny incisions and magnified 3D vision.
  • He says hospital stays dropped from two weeks to about 24 hours and patients return to work within a week.
INSIGHT

Rapid Adoption Curve

  • Robotic approaches became dominant quickly: prostatectomies in the UK moved from ~10% to ~90% robotic.
  • Growth of robotic surgery has outpaced the internet in speed of adoption.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Get the app