The economic meltdown that drove many publicly traded share prices into the ground and some venture capitalists into hiding also promised to spark a shopping spree for strategic investors looking to score inexpensive assets. The deals largely haven’t materialized, but Intuitive Surgical Inc., with more than $800 million in cash reserves and investments, is certainly beginning to nibble. Over the past six months, Intuitive has signed three technology-sharing agreements and bought the assets of a fourth in pursuit of new technologies to help feed future products to sell along side—or potentially inside—its da Vinci surgical systems.
Intuitive historically hasn’t been acquisitive. The company’s only significant purchase came in 2003 when it acquired rival company Computer Motion,...
