From Glasgow Lab
To Global Impact
Nami Surgical was founded in 2021 by Dr Nico Fenu and Dr Rebecca Cleary, researchers at the University of Glasgow’s Centre for Medical and Industrial Ultrasonics.
Built on Dr Fenu’s PhD research, the company was founded on a clear clinical gap that no robotic platform today offers integrated articulated ultrasonic advanced energy.
Nami’s patent-protected technology changes that.
The Journey
December 2021
Nami Surgical Founded
Dr Nico Fenu and Dr Rebecca Cleary founded Nami Surgical as a spinout from the University of Glasgow’s Centre for Medical and Industrial Ultrasonics, the world’s largest academic ultrasonic engineering unit.
August 2022
Innovate UK ICURe Grant
Nami secured competitive Innovate UK ICURe funding to support key early-stage activities, including research and development, QMS implementation, and market research to inform its business development strategy.
June 2024
Albert Nicholl Appointed Chair
Experienced MedTech executive Albert Nicholl was appointed Chair of Nami Surgical, strengthening the company’s strategic and commercial leadership.
June 2024
Nami Closes £2.5m Seed Round
Nami secured “2.5m in seed funding, led by investment firm Eos Advisory (Eos) alongside the Investment Fund for Scotland, which is managed by UK private equity firm Maven and delivered by British Business Bank, Scottish Enterprise, and SIS Ventures.
July 2025
Ex-JnJ Kevin Houser Appointed
IP Advisor
Kevin Houser joined Nami as IP Advisor and Champion. His extensive expertise in ultrasonic surgical engineering is helping to strengthen and expand Nami’s intellectual property portfolio.
November 2025
First Cadaver Study Completed
Nami successfully completed its first porcine cadaver study using its ultrasonic device in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh’s Large Animal Research and Imaging Facility (LARIF). This marked a significant milestone in the company’s pre-clinical development programme.
January 2026
ISO 13485 Certification Achieved
Nami achieved ISO 13485 certification for the design and development of its ultrasonic surgical platform, demonstrating compliance with internationally recognised medical device quality standards.
February 2026
First In-Vivo Study Completed
Nami completed its first porcine in vivo study, achieving performance metrics comparable with leading ultrasonic surgical instruments currently available on the market.
September 2026
Nami Surgical secures £3.4m funding round extension
The funding round extension is led by a £2 million investment from the Scottish National Investment Bank, alongside continued support from existing investors Eos Advisory, Scottish Enterprise and the Investment Fund for Scotland, managed by Maven Capital Partners and delivered by the British Business Bank.
September 2026
Nami Surgical Appoints Surgical Robotics Leader Michael Friedrich to its Board
Bringing over a decade of experience in surgical robotics, medtech commercialisation and business growth, Michael will support Nami as it expands its commercial partnerships and strengthens its position within the surgical robotics industry.
Future
Commercial Acceleration
Meet the Team
Our team brings a diverse and experienced background, uniquely positioning us to successfully develop and deliver Nami’s technology.
Board
Nikki Palfrey
Chief Executive Officer
Nikki is a very successful & experienced Commercial Director with a demonstrated history of working in the medical device industry. Nikki was the Chief Commercial Officer for Summit Medical and previously held a number of senior director sales and marketing roles in the surgical industry space with Orthosonics International, SRA Developments, Bowa Medical UK.
She is highly skilled in Marketing Management, Market Planning, Sales, Medical Devices, and Business Development. Her background is a Bachelor’s degree focused in Law & Accountancy from Staffordshire University.
Nico Fenu PhD
Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer
Nico received a BEng in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Cagliari, Italy, in 2015, and in 2017 received an MSc (Hons) in Biomedical Engineering, from the University of Dundee. He completed his PhD at the University of Glasgow on ‘Investigation of piezoelectric materials for ultrasonic surgery’ which focused on doped piezocrystals and lead-free piezoceramics for high-power, low-frequency ultrasonic applications.
During the final year of his PhD, Dr Fenu joined the programme grant ‘Ultrasurge, Surgery enabled by Ultrasonics’ where he worked on miniaturised ultrasonic surgical tools for integration with robotics. In December 2021 Nico founded Nami Surgical Ltd. and where he serves as Nami’s Chief Operating Officer.
Rebecca Cleary PhD
Co-Founder & Chief Technical Officer
Rebecca received an MEng in Electronic and Electrical Engineering with International Studies in 2013. She also holds a PhD from the University of Glasgow where her research focused on the use of ultrasonic needles for bone penetration.
During this period she was rewarded with the receipt of the R.W.B Stephens prize by Elsevier at the International Conference of Ultrasonics (ICU) and Dr Alan Stirling Brown Prize for her PhD thesis.
After 3 years as a lead post-doctorate researcher within the Centre for Medical and Industrial Ultrasonics, Dr Cleary was a key member of the cohort who founded Nami Surgical Ltd. She now leads Nami’s technical and regulatory activities as Chief Technical Officer.
Albert Nicholl
Chairman
Albert is Chair of the Board at Nami Surgical and a highly experienced business leader with a track record in international healthcare operations and strategic transformation. He supports the company through commercialisation, fundraising and mentoring the leadership team.
Albert is a distinguished business leader with vast experience in managing and advising on international healthcare operations.
He has a strategic mindset, excelling in driving substantial, measurable transformational improvements, restructuring operations, and developing top-tier personnel to ensure sustained growth, competitive advantage, and profit maximisation.
Albert retired from global medical device companies a decade ago to dedicate his expertise to supporting early-stage businesses in their commercialisation efforts and securing external financing. His mentoring of founding teams is crucial in positioning them to successfully execute their business plans and enhance shareholder value.
David O’Reilly
Investor Director
David has over 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur in the life sciences industry and in the founding, financing, scaling and partnering of innovative pharmaceutical and medical technology companies. He is currently the Managing Director of Bayview Biosciences, a firm that provides strategic advisory, product development and financing services to global life sciences companies, start-ups and investors.
He serves on the Board of Directors of Baymatob (a women-founded and led medical technology company focused on maternal and fetal health), Neupulse (a neuromodulation company focused on wearable medical devices for Tourette Syndrome and other neurodevelopmental disorders) and Bioliberty (a soft robotics company focused on neurorehabilitation). He is also Vice Chair and a member of the Board of Trustees for The Health Trust (a $120 million nonprofit operating foundation focused on building health equity).
Prior to Bayview Biosciences, David held co-founder and executive roles at several other successful life sciences companies, including Proteus Digital Health, Catalyst Biosciences, Iconix Biosciences, ARIAD Pharmaceuticals and L.E.K. Consulting. David is an inventor on over a dozen issued and pending patents related to digital and medical technologies and their application to drug discovery, therapeutic products and health care monitoring.
Michael Friedrich
Investor Director
Michael Friedrich is a medical technology entrepreneur and executive with extensive experience in surgical robotics, product development, fundraising and commercialisation.
He previously held senior leadership and board positions at Distalmotion, the Swiss company behind the DEXTER Surgical System. Joining as an early investor in 2014, Michael went on to serve as CEO and later COO, helping guide the company from early-stage development through regulatory approvals, clinical adoption and commercial expansion. During his tenure, Distalmotion secured significant investment and expanded its presence across Europe and the US.
Earlier in his career, Michael co-founded and led Aïmago, an EPFL spinout developing real-time blood-flow imaging technology. Its EasyLDI system achieved CE marking and US FDA clearance before the company was acquired by NOVADAQ in 2014.
Trained in microengineering at EPFL, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Michael combines a strong technical background with experience scaling innovative medical technology businesses.
As a Non-Executive Director at Nami Surgical, he brings valuable insight into surgical robotic platforms, regulatory pathways and commercial adoption, supporting the company’s continued growth and expansion of its partnerships within the surgical robotics industry.