SquareMind: EIC Accelerator Robot for Full-Body Skin Cancer Checks
A full skin check is one of dermatology's most common procedures and one of its most tedious. A dermatologist examines hundreds of spots by eye and dermatoscope, rarely has time to photograph them all, and relies on memory to spot what changed since the last visit. SquareMind, a Paris company founded in 2019, built Swan to take that job over: a robot arm that captures dermoscopic images of the whole body in minutes, and software that flags new or changing lesions.
The European Innovation Council paid €2.5 million towards the €3.92 million project that built it. In April 2026 SquareMind raised $18 million, led by a fund co-founded by the creator of the da Vinci surgical robot, to launch Swan in the United States and Europe. The launch is still ahead.
Company file
- Legal entity
- SquareMind SAS, SIREN 845 228 303
- Founded
- January 2019, Paris
- Leadership
- Ali Khachlouf (co-founder, CEO); Tanguy Serrat (managing director)
- Product
- Swan robotic skin imaging platform
- Regulatory status
- Company says CE-marked; FDA-listed as a Class I device, per MassDevice
- Investors
- Sonder Capital, Bpifrance Deeptech 2030, Adamed Technology, Calm/Storm, Teampact
- EIC project
- SWAN, 1 Jul 2022 to 31 Dec 2024, closed
- Funding type (table)
- Grant first, equity decided later
Where SquareMind Stands Today
On 27 April 2026 SquareMind announced $18 million in funding led by Sonder Capital, the venture fund co-founded by Fred Moll, founder of Intuitive Surgical. Bpifrance's Deeptech 2030 fund, Adamed Technology, Calm/Storm Ventures and Teampact Ventures joined. The company described Swan as CE-marked and FDA-listed, which allows commercial use in Europe and the United States, and the money as funding a "near-term commercial launch" on both sides of the Atlantic, according to The Robot Report.
The US status deserves precision. MassDevice reports Swan as a Class I device exempt from 510(k) clearance, which means it did not need FDA review of its safety and effectiveness data to be listed. That is appropriate for an imaging tool whose final clinical decision stays with the dermatologist, but it is not an FDA clearance of the AI's ability to find cancer.
The Technology: A Robotic Dermatoscope
According to the project report, Swan combines real-time 3D modelling of the patient's body, robotic planning and control to move a dermoscopic camera over the skin, image processing, secure storage and an AI that detects "new and modified moles" between visits. The idea is to give dermatologists a complete, standardised photographic record at every appointment, something few practices manage by hand.
"Dermatologists are operating under increasing pressure, facing strong cognitive load and fatigue. Our technology acts as their companion, helping to reduce this burden."
Ali Khachlouf, co-founder and chief executive, SquareMind, April 2026What the EIC Project Promised, and What CORDIS Shows
The EIC project
The EU paid 64% of a €3.92M robotics project
SWAN ran from July 2022 to December 2024.
CORDIS project 190119289. Values in € millions.
SWAN ran from 1 July 2022 to 31 December 2024 under the 2021 challenge for Strategic Digital and Health Technologies. The objective promised full-body scanning at dermoscopic resolution in under three minutes, AI triage of lesions, fewer unnecessary biopsies and faster treatment when needed. The closing report says the project produced "the world's first high-resolution imaging system as well as an AI capable of detecting new or modified moles". It mentions no clinical study, no regulatory step and no installed units.
- Full-body dermoscopic imaging robotDeliveredSystem built; company says CE-marked and FDA-listed by 2026.
- AI to detect new or changed lesionsReportedDescribed in the CORDIS report; no published accuracy data.
- Fewer biopsies, earlier treatmentNot shownRequires clinical outcome data that has not been published.
- Scaled deployment ("blitzscaling")Not yetCommercial launch still described as near-term in April 2026.
What Has Happened Since
The record
From EIC grant to a US-backed launch round
The robot was built during the EIC project. Its commercial launch is still described as imminent in 2026.
- Jan 2019Company foundedSquareMind SAS, Paris, SIREN 845 228 303
- Jun 2021EIC Accelerator cut-offSWAN submitted under the Strategic Digital and Health Technologies challenge
- Jul 2022EIC project starts30-month project to build a full-body skin imaging robot€2.5M grant
- Dec 2024EIC project closesHigh-resolution imaging system and AI for new or changed moles developed
- Apr 2026Launch fundingLed by Sonder Capital, co-founded by Intuitive Surgical founder Fred Moll$18M
- 2026Commercial launchSwan CE-marked and FDA-listed; launch in the US and Europe described as near-term
French company register via Pappers, CORDIS, Business Wire and The Robot Report.
The capital
Private money followed the EU grant
Announced amounts in millions, each in its own currency. The accounts are filed confidentially, so spending is not public.
CORDIS project 190119289; Business Wire, 27 April 2026.
The Money
SquareMind's finances are not public. According to Pappers, it filed its accounts for 2022 to 2024 with a confidentiality declaration, an option French law gives to small companies. The register shows repeated capital increases since 2019 and no insolvency proceedings. With no revenue, loss or cash figures published, the April 2026 round is the only public indicator of the company's financial position.
Why Europe Should Care
Early detection is the difference between a small excision and advanced melanoma, and SquareMind's investors cite a statistic that frames the product: that 80% of melanomas are new lesions, which a complete photographic record is designed to catch. A European medical robot backed by a French public deep-tech fund and a leading US medtech investor is also the kind of health-technology company the EIC's 2021 challenge aimed to create. Whether it stays European as it scales in the larger US market is the open question.
What the project promised
Blitzscaling early skin cancer detection with full-body robotic imaging and AI triage.
What the record shows
A working robot the company calls CE-marked and a well-funded launch, but no clinical outcome data, no public installations yet and confidential accounts.
The Verdict
Built and funded, now it must be used
The EIC's grant produced the product it was meant to produce, and the $18 million that followed, led by the investor behind the most successful surgical robot, is a strong external endorsement. The "blitzscaling" in the project's title has not started. SquareMind's next test is adoption: dermatology practices buying a robot, and data showing it catches cancers earlier. Until then, and with its accounts confidential, the public can judge the technology but not the business.
SquareMind has not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records, company statements and EU project data, linked throughout.
Industry
HealthMedical devices
- Focus
- Medical imaging
- Technologies
- Robotics
- Artificial intelligence
- Computer vision
- Keywords
- Skin cancer screening
- Melanoma
- Dermatology
- Total body imaging