Veyond Metaverse Won Fast Company Tech Award
The San Francisco-based firm earned recognition for its OceanMD remote medical platform.
Updated on Oct. 6, 2026 in Healthcare
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Fast Company named Veyond Metaverse a winner on its 2026 Next Big Things in Tech list. The recognition highlights the company's OceanMD platform, which utilizes extended reality to facilitate remote surgical guidance for sites like merchant ships.
Why it matters
Expert medical support is often days away for offshore sites and maritime crews, making real-time remote surgical assistance a critical solution. OceanMD aims to bridge this distance by allowing physicians to provide guidance from anywhere in the world.
Veyond Metaverse serves a global market encompassing 85,000 merchant ships and approximately 2.57 million seafarers. The company also holds U.S. Patent No. 12,400,408 for its proprietary technology.
The players
Veyond Metaverse
Headquartered in San Francisco, this company develops extended reality platforms for remote healthcare and surgical telepresence.
Fast Company
This New York City-based business publication covers innovation, technology, and design through its annual industry lists and reports.
Prof. Dr. Thierry Flam
He is a medical professional who has utilized Veyond Metaverse technology to guide complex surgical procedures from thousands of miles away.
The details
Using an extended reality (XR) headset, a local medic connects with a physician who appears as an avatar in the shared digital space. The physician uses interactive 3D models and real-time visual guidance to direct surgical procedures over low Earth orbit satellite, 4G, or 5G networks.
Timeline
Prof. Flam guided surgeries across 8,800 kilometers in 2023.
Prof. Flam conducted remote surgical guidance from New York in 2024.
Veyond Connect won Gold at the 2025 Digital Health Awards.
Fast Company announced the 2026 award winner on October 06, 2026.
Market Landscape
The 2026 Fast Company award follows the trajectory of recognition set by the 2025 Digital Health Awards for the Veyond Connect platform. This series of accolades positions the company as a leader in the expanding remote surgery market, effectively challenging traditional limitations on medical access at sea.
While the technology is currently focused on maritime and offshore environments, it signals a shift toward broader remote healthcare availability. Patients in underserved or remote areas may eventually benefit from the increased accessibility of top-tier surgical expertise facilitated by this platform.
The takeaway
Advancements in extended reality are effectively shrinking the distance between specialized surgeons and patients in remote, hard-to-reach environments. As these tools become more reliable over satellite and 5G networks, the potential for decentralized surgical care continues to grow.
Further reading
Learn more about the latest innovations in Healthcare.
More information
To learn more about the platform or request a technology demonstration, visit the company's website.
Source note: This article includes information reported by The Manila times.
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