For Innovators: Selected innovators benefit from our unique ecosystem, accessing to project funding, clinical and regulatory support, as well as market know-how, ensuring early fit to surgeons’ clinical needs.

For Investors: Partnering with the AO means de-risking orthopedic MedTech innovation, with our global network of expertise, and our reputation.

• Customized innovation project funding
  The AO nurtures innovation with seed money that kick-starts projects and empowers innovators to transform ideas into impactful realities. We bridge the gap between ideation and execution, ensuring that promising projects thrive with the necessary resources.

  The AO recognizes the uniqueness of each project, and our support reflects that. We tailor timeframes and funding to each project's specific needs, nurturing innovation efficiently while allowing innovators to focus on their transformative ideas.

• Technology translation support and mentorship
  Move from concept to real-world solutions with the AO’s assistance. We facilitate the transition from lab to practical orthopedic solutions, effectively addressing clinical challenges with the professional counseling of global leaders from across science, medicine, and industry.

• Incubator ecosystem across clinical specialties
  Our innovation ecosystem fosters collaboration, guidance, and growth across diverse clinical specialties, allowing novel ideas flourish and contributing to transformative advancements.

In scope ideas

• Ideas for innovative products to improve musculoskeletal patient care.
• New services and initiatives strategically relevant to AO’s core activities and/or the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders.
• Activities supporting the AO in building a repository of curated medical images for Artificial Intelligence (AI) use cases, to improve patient care.

Not in scope

• Research projects or stand-alone clinical research studies.
• Reusable surgical instruments
• Pharmaceuticals
• Events
• Product ideas with weak business cases
• Product ideas with no protectable IP or older than five years

         Product development

• Desirability: Relevance of the clinical need, market size.
• Viability: Risks, Return on Investment.
• Feasibility: IP strategy, regulatory pathway, technical feasibility.
• Patentable idea or submitted patent application (not older than 5 years)
• Significant improvement over existing solutions – degree of innovation
• Strong business case

Strategic or educational projects

• Enabling AO activities in new fields (Digitalization, Data management, Medical imaging for AI, etc.), or testing new hypothesis.
• Feasibility and Sustainability: Close collaboration with the AO department(s) benefiting from the project outcomes (for long term sustainability after the seed funding phase).
• Viability: Value for the AO
• Funding only direct project costs (no overhead).

• Anyone can apply at any time.
• Each applicant will receive the first evaluation feedback within two months from the submission deadline (being the end of February and August).

All applications will be handled on a confidential basis. Only the AO Foundation Board, the relevant funding governing body, and the AO executive management will have access to the applications, and only for the purpose of evaluation. Experts will be involved only under a non-disclosure agreement. For applicants gaining funding approval, the collaboration agreement with the AO grants the right to publicly use the applicant's name, photograph, and non-confidential details about the project, agreed beforehand with the applicant.

Intellectual Property (IP)

A cooperation contract will be negotiated to define the rights concerning the involved IP. Usually, any income generated by the projects will be shared between the AO and the inventor. The relative shares depend on the status of the idea when the collaboration started