Healthcare app launched by China's Ping An Insurance raises $500m
Ping An Good Doctor, a healthcare-focused mobile app controlled by Chinese Ping An Insurance Group, has raised $500 million in a Series A round of funding at a valuation of $3 billion.
Investors in the round were not disclosed but the company said in a release that global private equity funds, Chinese state-owned enterprises and financial institutions, and internet companies are involved. It is said to be the largest-ever fundraise globally by a healthcare start-up.
Launched in April of last year, the mobile app allows patients to book medical appointments and consult with doctors through text, images and video. Meanwhile, doctors can use the app to manage patient records and follow up on cases. The platform also features healthcare-related articles and forums.
Ping An Good Doctor has hired 1,000 medical professionals to provide online consultation, and partners with 50,000 doctors in 3,000 hospitals to offer offline medical services. The platform currently has more than 77 million registered users and provides as many as 250,000 daily consultation.
The start-up wants to establish a full ecosystem for online-and-offline (O2O) healthcare services. It will use the new capital to improve online consultation and appointment booking, and to expand offline partnerships in diagnostics and medical treatment. There are also plans to helps local governments build cloud technology to maintain healthcare files, develop online payment technology, and create a seed fund with third-party investors to back other healthcare companies.
Ping An Good Doctor represents Ping An's second attempt to establish an online footprint beyond its traditional business. Lufax, an online financial service platform launched by the insurance company, completed a $1.2 billion round of funding earlier this year.
Online healthcare services are popular among VC and strategic investors. Guahao.com, a healthcare information portal, completed a $394 million Series B round led by Hillhouse Capital and Goldman Sachs last year. Other players to receive funding include dxy.com, a networking site for healthcare professionals, and medical consultation site Quyiyuan.com.
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