Petal Surgical CEO Prash Chopra's advice for device developers

A photo of Petal Surgical co-founder and CEO Prash Chopra.

Petal Surgical co-founder and CEO Prash Chopra [Photo courtesy of Petal Surgical]

Incisionless surgery is “around the corner,” Petal Surgical co-founder and CEO Prash Chopra said as he offered a first glimpse of his startup’s system ahead of a first-in-human procedure expected soon.

The company’s technology combines noninvasive histotripsy ablation, robotics and artificial intelligence for what Chopra describes as “predictable, repeatable, millimeter-scale complete destruction of tissue” via acoustic liquefaction. (Read more about the technology in our October 2025 interview with Chopra as his company came out of stealth mode.)

Petal Surgical now has the financial backing of investors like Intuitive Surgical co-founder Dr. Fred Moll. During our interview with Chopra for our latest coverage of his company at MassDevice, we also asked him to share some advice to help Medical Design & Outsourcing‘s audience of device developers succeed in their own efforts.

The following has been lightly edited for space and clarity.

MDO: What advice would you share that might help other medical device developers?

Chopra: “We are still constantly learning. We have so much to solve for. We are barely scratching the surface of the universe we are about to enter with incisionless surgery. For what it’s worth, here’s what I feel confident sharing if it helps someone. Three things: One, knowing personally what you stand for is paramount. It doesn’t have to be a perfect answer, but it does mean even for a 17-, 18-, 19-year-old human on a planet, I believe there’s already enough clues and inclinations in how we behave under stress with opportunities to latch on to something that is true to ourselves. Who are we? What are we inclined to do when we are left to our own devices?

“No. 2 is showing up to work. Big problems take both large-scale time and money and villages and relationships and mentoring. Showing up to work to solve the next small chunk of the problem that keeps us oriented toward who we are is the second thing I try to practice.

“And the final thing is focus, which means saying no, especially to things that we believe are dear to us. We naturally want to spend time doing those things, but knowing that the long game is beyond myself and I must suffer so the rest of us won’t have to, it calls for sacrifice. … My life is not about today or tomorrow. It’s about what will I want to be remembered for. And it’s for others.”

Any advice for landing investors like Dr. Fred Moll?

Chopra: “I am humbled by the question and hope the answer is scalable and repeatable. The only thing I can even begin to share as advice — which I I feel so humble again just even to mention these words — I believe it’s all about authenticity. I continue to believe that whether it’s a big problem for humanity at large or something small that we are trying to help another human with, authenticity is the foundation. Without it, no amount of effort, trust, resources, capital, gravitas, Rolodex can create a lasting change, and that has been my experience with Dr. Moll and other individuals like him, all due respect to them.”

Can you explain more about what you mean by authenticity?

Chopra: “When I use the word authenticity, it’s about us caring about others, not ourselves. I can’t even begin to share with you how many times it has unlocked meaningful, crucial conversations for us at Petal. It just connects us all when we are humble, genuinely humble about not caring about ourselves alone, but caring about humanity. When we are long gone, what will people enjoy because of us?”

Is there anything else you’d like to share?

Chopra: “Petal is a small team but we have in the past dreamt really big, tied with some of our personal losses or purposes in life. At this point, the mission that we had dreamt has become bigger than ourselves, and we love it. It’s so big that we hope our efforts end up inspiring more teams like ours to to work in the field of incisionless surgery. We took a stand to wonder what if surgery could be done incisionless, and today, I’m confidently telling you that incisionless surgery is around the corner, and it’s about repeatable, predictable, millimeter-scale, complete destruction of tissue. This is just the beginning of our journey.”