PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Moshe Shoham

Also known as משה שהם

Moshe Shoham is an Israeli professor emeritus of mechanical engineering at the Technion whose medical robots and AI start-ups brought software guidance into surgery and hospital triage. After earning a Technion doctorate in 1986 under Yoram Koren, he joined Columbia University as an assistant professor, then returned to the Technion in 1990 to head its robotics laboratory. He founded Mazor Robotics in 2001 and co-founded Diagnostic Robotics, an AI triage company, in 2017; Medtronic bought Mazor in December 2018 for about $1.6 billion. The US National Academy of Engineering elected him an International Member in 2014, and he became an IEEE Fellow in 2015. Since 2020, he is a co-founder of ForSight Robotics, whose ORYOM platform applies AI-based algorithms and computer vision to cataract surgery and which closed a $125 million Series B round in June 2025.

Now at
Technion and ForSight Robotics
Born
1952
Works
114
Citations
2,322
h-index
29
Badges

Years link to their sources. Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 22 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 1978–1986

    Aeronautics to a robotics doctorate

    He earns a B.Sc. in aeronautical engineering at the Technion in 1978 and works at Israel Aerospace Industries. An M.Sc. in mechanical engineering follows in 1982, and a D.Sc. in 1986 with the thesis “End-Effector Guidance of Robotic Arms” under Yoram Koren.

  2. 1986–2004

    A robotics lab at the Technion

    In 1986, he joins Columbia University as an assistant professor in the department of mechanical engineering. In 1990, he returns to the Technion's mechanical engineering faculty as a senior lecturer and heads its robotics laboratory, then becomes an associate professor in 1997 and a full professor in 2004.

  3. 2001–2018

    Founding and selling Mazor Robotics

    He founds Mazor Robotics with Eli Zehavi in 2001 to build a robotic guidance system for spine surgery. The company commercializes SmartAssist, a back-surgery robot developed in his Technion lab. In December 2018, Medtronic buys Mazor Robotics in a deal of about $1.6 billion.

  4. 2014–2015

    NAE membership and IEEE Fellowship

    In 2014, he is elected an International Member of the US National Academy of Engineering for contributions to robotic technology for image-guided surgery. In 2015, he becomes an IEEE Fellow for contributions to robot manipulators and miniature medical robots.

  5. 2017

    Co-founding Diagnostic Robotics

    In 2017, he co-founds Diagnostic Robotics with Kira Radinsky and Yonatan Amir. The start-up uses AI to help medical teams reach faster and more accurate diagnostic decisions, including a triage score that rates the urgency of treatment for each patient.

  6. 2019–2020

    Müller Award and emeritus status

    He receives the Maurice E. Müller Award for Excellence in Computer Assisted Surgery in 2019 and retires from the Technion as an emeritus professor in 2020.

  7. 2020–2021

    Co-founding ForSight Robotics

    He co-founds ForSight Robotics in 2020 with Daniel Glozman and Joseph Nathan to apply microsurgical robotics, computer visualization and machine learning to eye surgery. A $10 million seed round announced in March 2021 names him chief scientist.

  8. June 2025

    A $125 million Series B

    In June 2025, ForSight Robotics, which he co-founded, closes a $125 million Series B round led by Eclipse. Its ORYOM platform for cataract surgery uses AI-based algorithms and computer vision.

Career

  1. Since 2020ForSight RoboticsCo-founder, Chief Scientist
  2. Since 1990TechnionSenior Lecturer, Associate Professor
  3. From 2017Diagnostic RoboticsCo-founder
  4. 2001–2018Mazor RoboticsFounder
  5. 1986–1990Columbia UniversityAssistant Professor

Education

  1. 1986TechnionD.Sc.
  2. 1982TechnionM.Sc. in mechanical engineering
  3. 1978TechnionB.Sc. in aeronautical engineering

From the biography and OpenAlex affiliations (the years of papers that list the organization), so some years are approximate.

Most-cited works

  1. Clinical Acceptance and Accuracy Assessment of Spinal Implants Guided With SpineAssist Surgical Robot2010 · Spine · 408 citations
  2. Propulsion Method for Swimming Microrobots2007 · IEEE Transactions on Robotics · 114 citations
  3. Flexible Needle Steering and Optimal Trajectory Planning for Percutaneous Therapies2004 · Lecture notes in computer science · 107 citations
  4. BONE-MOUNTED MINIATURE ROBOTIC GUIDANCE FOR PEDICLE SCREW AND TRANSLAMINAR FACET SCREW PLACEMENT2007 · Operative Neurosurgery · 103 citations
  5. Application of Grassmann—Cayley Algebra to Geometrical Interpretation of Parallel Robot Singularities2009 · The International Journal of Robotics Research · 77 citations

From OpenAlex, as of 21 October 2026.

  1. Universities keep AI researchers for a median of 6 years, compared with 2 years at frontier labsIncludes Technion. Across 15,811 dated work stays (6,529 people), median role tenure runs from 6 years at universities to 2 years at frontier labs. We compare all five organization types, starting decades from the 1970s to the 2020s, and the organizations that keep people longest.
  2. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes Technion. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.
  3. 41% of people who worked abroad later worked in their country of birth among people with a recorded birth country and dated work historyIncludes Technion. Of 991 people with a recorded birth country who worked outside it, 410 (41%) later held a work position at home, led by the United States at 69%.
  4. The United States employs an estimated 48% of people shaping AIIncludes Technion. We estimate where the people shaping AI work today, how universities, companies and research institutes split across countries, and how country shares have changed since the 1960s.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Moshe Shoham yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Moshe Shoham - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  2. ISRAELI ENGINEERING PIONEER: SOON, EVERYONE WILL HAVE A PERSONAL ROBOT - Technion UK technionuk.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  3. An incredible journey from an Israeli robotics team - ISRAEL21c archive.israel21c.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  4. 2015 IEEE RAS Fellow Class Announced - IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Website ieee-ras.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  5. Mazor Robotics - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  6. Emergency Room Robotics Startup Raises $24 Million - CTech calcalistech.com. Checked 20 October 2026.
  7. Diagnostic Robotics: “Constructing medical decision-making ability” - Technion UK technionuk.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  8. Mazor Robotics founder is at it again, raising $10 million in seed round for new startup ForSight Robotics - CTech calcalistech.com. Checked 20 October 2026.
  9. ForSight Robotics: $125 Million Series B Secured For Eye Surgical Robotics Technology pulse2.com. Checked 20 October 2026.
  10. Sharpening the Focus on the Future of Eye Surgery: Our Series A in ForSight Robotics - Eclipse eclipse.capital. Checked 20 October 2026.