Haventure Adds Addie Harris, Patrice Arpal to Top Management Team

Haventure, a business accelerator specializing in surgical robotics, has appointed Addie Harris as CEO and Patrice Arpal as managing director. Stephane Lavallée remains president via his holding company.
 
Harris has a history of entrepreneurship in medtech, medical devices, and robotics. She was founder and CEO of Cardan Robotics (acquired by Stryker Corp. in 2019) and has held roles at several well-known robotics and imaging startups. Most recently she was an R&D leader at Johnson and Johnson, founding the Orthopedics Robotics organization, acquiring Orthotaxy, and leading the VELYS Robotic Surgical Solution through development to commercial launch. It was during this time that she met Lavallée. A strong bond was formed over the shared interest in medical robotics, surgical technology, and cultivating talent through mentorship and the development of young, brilliant technologists. 

Harris earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering and robotics from Tufts University and received a prestigious Fulbright Fellowship in Robotics and Augmented Reality.
 
Arpal has a background in law and business in healthcare and corporations. He has a master’s degree in business law and an executive MBA. He began his career in a law firm in Lyon, then moved into corporate world. He has held roles including in-house counsel, general counsel, and most notably was in the healthcare space as lead manager of Corporate Law for in-vitro diagnostics firm BioMérieux when it was led by Moderna’s now CEO Stéphane Bancel. Arpal joined Haventure in September 2022 as chief legal officer before being appointed general manager.
 
Supporting Startups’ Growth 
“The surgical robotics market is booming, experiencing double-digit growth and creating hundreds of jobs per year, bringing strong innovations for the ultimate benefit of patients,” Harris said. Major market players are driving the trend: In recent years, multi-billion-dollar acquisitions have occurred, and this trend is set to increase as the traditional implant industry transforms to digital surgery. MarketsandMarkets predicts the sector to grow 16.5% to $12.7 billion in 2025.
 
With medical robotics poised for growth across all areas of treatment, Haventure is positioned as an incubator and growth accelerator for an initial seven startups and advises them in structuring their fundraising to support their development, access to strategic expertise, and capital needs.
 
“I am excited to join Haventure at this foundational moment. I am looking forward to mentoring our seven CEOs as they tackle improving patient care. The Haventure model of strong backbench IP, expert surgeon support, lean teams, and focus on clinical needs resonates with my personal philosophy of how to develop technology. Not only will this investment structure deliver transformational medical offerings, but Haventure’s talent incubator and personal mentorship is developing the next generation of entrepreneurs to carry the torch forward in advancing innovation in medtech,” Harris added.

Haventure has created an investment structure for the seven startups.
 
“The accelerator has supported several startups from Grenoble in surgical robotics. The latest ones are well-known, including eCential Robotics, with a financing plan of €100 million in 2021, and Orthotaxy, which was acquired by Johnson & Johnson in 2018. Haventure’s achievements also include Imactis, Uromems, Blue Ortho, A2 Surgical, and Traumis Surgical, a track record with 100% success,” stated Lavallée, who is also eCential Robotics’s president.
 
Employing surgical robotics means securing and ensuring unequalled precision of the surgical act, but also offering practitioners ease of use and real time savings. This is a field of the future that is already firmly rooted in the Grenoble ecosystem, which is recognized worldwide.
 
At the heart of a robust network of companies, Haventure allows a strong mutualization of means, innovative ideas, technologies, and experiences, in France and internationally. The structure offers a unique service for incubation and acceleration of startups in the field, providing them with dedicated mentoring, training, support from experts in quality and regulatory affairs, intellectual property, IT, human resources, as well as other support functions. Haventure is composed of 13 expert employees provide support to MedTech entrepreneurs and their teams, so that start-ups can then devote themselves entirely to the development of their innovative projects.
 
The fundraising operation was prepared with the guidance from internationally known firm BCG (Boston Consulting Group) and will enable pooled investment in seven incubated startups. The startups have targeted business models that directly address unmet clinical needs in the medtech and robotics space. Theyspan indications such as orthopedics, ENT, general surgery, and maternal hemorrhage.
 
Haventure is the first business accelerator dedicated to surgical robotics startups. Founded in Grenoble in 2012 by Lavallée, Haventure has contributed to the creation and deployment of more than 11 startups in this fast-growing field, four of which have already been successfully sold to major market players. Thanks to Haventure’s guidance and financial support, more than 400 jobs have been created, 100 patents filed, 15 CE/FDA certified products and tens of thousands of surgeries performed.