TUTTLINGEN, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 22, 2026--
Through new strategic partnerships across the robotics ecosystem in the United States, the family-owned MedTech company KARL STORZ is bringing together advanced 3D visualization, robotic technologies, digital capabilities, and operating room integration. The collaborations with Moon Surgical and Sovato support a more open and connected approach to surgical innovation, designed to expand access, improve workflow efficiency, and enable future models of surgical care. The partnerships will initially be offered in the United States, ahead of a planned global rollout.
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An open approach to the future of robotics
Robotic surgery is entering a new phase—one defined not only by advances in robotic technology, but also by the growing importance of interoperability and integrated surgical workflows. To help meet these evolving needs, KARL STORZ, a global leader in endoscopy, imaging, and integrated operating room solutions, is expanding its network of strategic collaborations across the robotics landscape. With technologies deployed in more than 15,000 integrated operating rooms worldwide, the company brings extensive experience in connected surgical environments to these partnerships. Working with Moon Surgical and Sovato will bring together complementary capabilities spanning robotic-assisted surgery, advanced 3D visualization, operating room integration, and digital technologies. Together, these collaborations reflect KARL STORZ's commitment to building a more open and flexible robotics ecosystem. “We believe the future of robotic surgery will be shaped by collaboration, connectivity, and the ability to bring together complementary technology layers in ways that create meaningful value for customers,” said Christy Gaudet, Global Head of Solutions at KARL STORZ. “By combining our strengths in advanced 3D visualization, operating room integration, and workflow solutions with the expertise of our partners, we are pursuing ways to advance a more connected and interoperable surgical environment while opening new possibilities for surgeons and healthcare providers.”
Supporting flexible and workflow-driven robotics: Moon Surgical partnership
Moon Surgical, a French-American company, is dedicated to scaling surgical performance through real-time, AI-native intraoperative capabilities and workflow automation via their surgical platform, the Maestro®. The Maestro is designed to increase predictability and reduce variability so that more procedures can be performed reliably and efficiently by combining native, physical AI with data-driven insights and automation. Together, KARL STORZ and Moon Surgical are pairing Maestro's capabilities with KARL STORZ 3D visualization and workflow integration to make minimally invasive surgery more efficient and more accessible across the full range of surgical settings, from hospitals to rural health facilities and ambulatory surgery centers.
Building the foundation for connected surgical care: Sovato partnership
Sovato, a California-based remote robotic surgery and procedure platform, is working with KARL STORZ to support future models of connected surgical care. Through its partnership with Sovato, KARL STORZ's 3D visualization technologies can support remote surgical collaboration and future connected-care applications. The companies aim to connect robotics and digital layers, laying the groundwork for future models of remote collaboration, training, and surgical support.
Advancing the future of smart surgery
Together, these partnerships reinforce KARL STORZ’s strategic focus on 3D visualization, OR integration, connectivity, and collaboration. By forming strategic collaborations with complementary technologies across the robotics ecosystem, KARL STORZ aims to create a more open and connected approach to surgical innovation in the OR—one that expands access, supports workflow efficiency, and enables new possibilities for surgeons and patients worldwide.
Note: For further information on the availability of this product in your market, please contact your local KARL STORZ marketing and sales representatives.
About KARL STORZ
The medical technology company KARL STORZ was founded in 1945 in Tuttlingen, Germany, and is one of the world’s leading providers of endoscopy and imaging solutions, as well as integrated operating room solutions for many surgical specialties in human and veterinary medicine. Now in its third generation, the family-owned company employs 9,900 people worldwide in more than fifty countries. KARL STORZ stands for visionary design, precision craftsmanship, and clinical effectiveness, including advancements in digital surgery. Production facilities are located in Germany, the U.S., Switzerland, Estonia, and China.
For more information, visit: www.karlstorz.com.
KARL STORZ technologies in the surgical environment and the Maestro® System from Moon Surgical. Together, the partnerships support KARL STORZ's vision of a more connected and interoperable future of surgery.
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Firefighters in central Spain on Wednesday battled a wildfire that has burned over 32,000 hectares (79,000 acres) in one of the country's largest blazes on record.
The fire in rural Guadalajara comes less than two weeks after a deadly blaze devastated a small expat community in southern Spain. That small but extremely virulent fire killed 13 people, including several foreigners, in one of the southern European country's deadliest wildfires.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Wednesday visited the fire-ravaged area in Guadalajara, and called for a pact between political parties to fight climate change.
“Year after year we clearly see how climate change kills and destroys wealth in our communities,” Sánchez said in the village of Tamajón, located less than two hours by car northeast of Madrid. “This isn’t politics. It is science, it’s about facts.”
Some 34 villages have been evacuated in the area but there are no reported serious injuries or deaths. Over 200 firefighters were supported by land vehicles and aircraft on Wednesday.
Spain this year has already suffered 22 major forest fires, defined as a fire that burns over 500 hectares (1,235 acres.)
The Socialist leader said over 100,000 hectares (247,000 acres) had already been scorched through the first half of the year, matching the total yearly average for Spain over the last decade.
Spain’s Minister for Ecological Transition, Sara Aagesen, described the Guadalajara fire as “one of the largest in the recent history of our country” and the largest ever for the region of Castilla La Mancha.
The Guadalajara blaze is the second-largest on record in Spain’s history after some 37,000 hectares (91,000 acres) were burned last year in the northwest of the country, according to data from the ecological transition ministry, as cited by EFE news agency.
Regional authorities said firefighters supported by water-dumping aircraft had so far protected homes in all 40 villages in the burned area, 90% of which belongs to a national park. Firefighters hope to have the nearly week-old fire under control by Friday, said Emiliano García-Page, regional president of Castilla La Mancha.
Miguel Ángel Moreno, mayor of the village of Zarzuela de Jadraque, said its 100 residents were evacuated Friday, with 14 taking refuge at a Red Cross shelter.
Moreno said that the firefighters should receive as much admiration as the soccer players who won the World Cup on Sunday.
The firefighters “had to run from one side of the village to the other putting out fires,” Moreno told Spanish national television TVE. “Besides the heroes who won the World Cup, we have other heroes who remain nameless.”
Spain’s weather agency said a heat wave that began Tuesday was expected to reach its peak between Wednesday and Thursday, with temperatures pushing 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in several inland areas and crossing 42 Celsius (108 Fahrenheit) in parts of Andalusia in southern Spain.
Guadalajara and large areas of Spain were under alert for high temperatures.
Like many other European countries, Spain is experiencing extreme heat, which is combining with wind and limited rainfall to create ideal conditions for small wildfires to grow unchecked.
Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing twice as quickly as the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.
Globally, 2025 was the third-hottest year on record, bringing severe heat waves across Europe. Scientists warn that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness especially in southeastern Europe, making the region more vulnerable to health impacts and wildfires.
In Italy, several fires burned across Sicily on Wednesday, prompting scattered evacuations.
For days, Italy’s Civil Protection agency has declared all of Sicily at the highest risk for wildfires. Winds and temperatures near or above 40 C (100 F) have fueled blazes from near Palermo on the northern coast to Catania in the east and now Agrigento in the west.
Greece was sweltering under what was forecast to be the last of a four-day heat wave. Temperatures were predicted to top 42 C (107 F), while several regions in southern and central Greece, including the wider Athens area, were on the highest alert level for wildfire danger.
Cyprus, meanwhile, issued a warning for high temperatures expected to reach 43 C (109 F).
In Britain, it hasn’t rained in more than a month in some areas, and much of the southern half of England is in a state of “prolonged dry weather,” one step before a drought. Thames Water, the country’s biggest water company, has banned its 10 million customers from using hoses to water lawns or wash cars starting Thursday.
Nicole Winfield in Rome, Elena Becatoros in Athens, Menelaos Hadjicostis in Nicosia, Cyprus, and Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.
Smoke rises above the horizon in Hiendelaencina, Guadalajara province, Spain, Wednesday, July 22, 2026, after a wildfire scorched tens of thousands of hectares in one of Spain's largest wildfires in recent years. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
A woman cools herself with a hand fan during a heat wave in central Nicosia, Cyprus, Tuesday, July 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
View of the burned area in Muriel, Guadalajara province, Spain, Wednesday, July 22, 2026, after a wildfire scorched tens of thousands of hectares in one of Spain's largest wildfires in recent years. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
View of the burned area in Muriel, Guadalajara province, Spain, Wednesday, July 22, 2026, after a wildfire scorched tens of thousands of hectares in one of Spain's largest wildfires in recent years. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, right, arrives at Tamajón, Guadalajara province, Spain, Wednesday, July 22, 2026, after a wildfire scorched tens of thousands of hectares in one of Spain's largest wildfires in recent years. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
View of the burned area in Muriel, Guadalajara province, Spain, Wednesday, July 22, 2026, after a wildfire scorched tens of thousands of hectares in one of Spain's largest wildfires in recent years. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
View of the burned area in Muriel, Guadalajara province, Spain, Wednesday, July 22, 2026, after a wildfire scorched tens of thousands of hectares in one of Spain's largest wildfires in recent years. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
