Johnson & Johnson MedTech has announced the launch of the Polyphonic AI Fund for Surgery, an initiative designed to accelerate the development of artificial intelligence solutions targeting surgical challenges. The program will fund projects that enhance surgical outcomes before, during, and after procedures, with a focus on responsible innovation and data governance.

The fund will evaluate proposals related to AI model development, data engineering, and compliance frameworks. NVIDIA and Amazon Web Services (AWS) have joined the effort, bringing cloud infrastructure and AI development tools to support awardees. The initiative builds on Johnson & Johnson MedTech’s existing Polyphonic Digital Ecosystem, introduced last year in collaboration with NVIDIA.

One of the first steps under the fund will be the QuickFire Challenge, a grant competition open to academic researchers, startups, and industry teams. Selected participants will receive financial backing and access to resources from Johnson & Johnson MedTech, NVIDIA, and AWS, including developer workshops and technical mentorship.
“Surgeons and their teams are asking for AI to make an impact,” said Hani Abouhalka, company group chairman for surgery at Johnson & Johnson MedTech. “We are in a position to convene solutions that can improve surgery and offer the expertise and infrastructure to bring these solutions to light through our digital ecosystem.”

According to internal survey data cited by the company, 95% of healthcare professionals support increased integration of AI into clinical practice.

The Polyphonic ecosystem, which is currently in limited use at select hospitals, is focused on creating AI-enriched data sets, advancing surgical video annotation standards, and enabling scalable, collaborative AI development. Tools such as NVIDIA’s Holoscan and IGX platforms will support real-time, edge-based computing for surgical applications.

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