# Daniel Hawkins

> Daniel Hawkins is a medical-technology founder, inventor and operator whose career has moved from the early commercialization of Intuitive Surgical's da Vinci robot to co-founding Calibra Medical, founding Shockwave Medical and Avail Medsystems, and leading Vista AI. At Vista AI, he is applying a career-long interest in market creation and workflow design to software that automates MRI acquisition, beginning with cardiac MRI and expanding toward additional anatomies.

- **Role:** President and CEO at Vista AI
- **Organizations:** Vista AI, illumicellAI, Avail Medsystems, Shockwave Medical, Calibra Medical, Intuitive Surgical, Endologix, Restore Medical, EnteroMedics, Advanced Cardiovascular Systems
- **From:** Philadelphia, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** MBA, Entrepreneurial Management and Marketing, Stanford University Graduate School of Business, BS in Economics, Management and Marketing, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
- **Known for:** Named inventor on more than 160 medical-device and digital-health patents and applications., Helped define product requirements and initial market creation for Intuitive Surgical's da Vinci surgical robot., Co-founded Calibra Medical, later acquired by Johnson & Johnson.

## Career timeline

- **Late 1980s-early 1990s** — Worked in leveraged buyouts in Manhattan before deciding to move to the entrepreneurial side of healthcare.
- **1993 onward** — Began a medtech career that included marketing and business-development roles at Advanced Cardiovascular Systems and other established and early-stage companies.
- **1990s** — Joined Intuitive Surgical early, started its marketing function, helped shape da Vinci product requirements and sold the first system.
- **2004-2006** — Co-founded Calibra Medical and served as a vice president; the company was acquired by Johnson & Johnson.
- **2009-2017** — Co-founded and led Shockwave Medical, helping invent intravascular lithotripsy and taking it from concept through early commercialization.
- **2017-2023** — Founded and led Avail Medsystems, developing a procedural telepresence platform for remote collaboration in operating rooms.
- **2024-present** — Appointed president and CEO of Vista AI to commercialize and expand AI-driven MRI acquisition software.
- **2026** — Joined illumicellAI as an advisor and announced Vista AI's $29.5 million Series B financing.

## Achievements

- Named inventor on more than 160 medical-device and digital-health patents and applications.
- Helped define product requirements and initial market creation for Intuitive Surgical's da Vinci surgical robot.
- Co-founded Calibra Medical, later acquired by Johnson & Johnson.
- Founded Shockwave Medical and co-invented its core intravascular lithotripsy technology.
- Led Shockwave from concept through regulatory milestones and early commercialization before its later IPO and $13.1 billion acquisition by Johnson & Johnson.
- Founded Avail Medsystems and raised more than $100 million for its procedural telepresence platform.
- Named one of Goldman Sachs' 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs in 2017.
- As Vista AI CEO, closed a $29.5 million Series B backed by health systems and venture investors in January 2026.

## Latest updates

- **2026-02** — Presented on remote scanning and taking cardiac MRI beyond human limits at the Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance annual meeting.
- **2026-01** — Vista AI announced a $29.5 million Series B financing to expand automated MRI scanning across additional anatomies and remote scanning services.
- **2026-01** — Joined medical-imaging AI company illumicellAI as an advisor.
- **2025-09** — Spoke with MRI technologist Victoria Cunha at ARMRIT 2025 about practical uses of AI in MRI workflows.
- **2025-07** — Appeared on The Medical Innovation Podcast for a 58-minute conversation about automated MRI and Vista AI's expansion vision.

## Links

- Website: https://vista.ai
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielhawkins

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/daniel-hawkins
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-18