China insurance tech platform Waterdrop receives $230m
Shuidi, a China-based insurance technology platform also known as Waterdrop, has raised $230 million in Series D funding jointly led by Tencent Holdings and Swiss Re Group. Existing investors IDG Capital and Wisdom Choice Global Fund re-upped.
Founded in 2016 by Peng Shen, previously a member of the founding team of Meituan, Shuidi aims to leverage the internet to offer health protection to the low- and middle-income Chinese families that may not have access to traditional insurance products.
The company has three core business modules: Shuidihuzhu, a mutual aid platform; Shuidichou, a zero-commission patient-focused crowdfunding platform; and Shuidi Insurance Mall, an online supermarket for insurance products.
Shuidi claims 100 million customers from 60 million families across 2,988 cities and counties in China. Processed premiums in the first half of 2020 amounted to nearly RMB6 billion ($869 million), more than the 12-month total for 2019. Four in five customers make their first online insurance purchases through Shuidi, with 73% expressing a willingness to repurchase.
The crowdfunding platform has accumulated 320 million users and more than one billion donors, with donations topping RMB32 billion. Most of the users are patients with critical illnesses. They upload personal information and details of their condition to the platform and receive donations through channels like WeChat Moments.
The mutual aid business has assisted nearly 13,000 families, allocating more than RMB1.6 billion for medical treatment. Users pay a monthly fee to join the online community through which they can apply for partial funding for operations. Responsibility for verification of conditions - as well as decisions to refuse payments if documents are thought to be falsified - falls on community members rather than third parties.
The likes of Alibaba Group-controlled Ant Financial, ride-hailing platform Didi Chuxing, and electronics retailer Suning all operate their own mutual aid platforms.
Shuidi will use the new funding to invest in artificial intelligence, big data and other technologies with a view to improving efficiency. It will also accelerate the exploration of medical and health services based on user needs.
Shuidi received RMB50 million in angel funding from Tencent, Chuxin Capital, Gaorong Capital, IDG Capital, Meituan-Dianping, ZhenFund, and Dianliang Jijin in 2016. This was followed by a RMB160 million Series A in 2017 featuring Tencent, BlueRun Ventures, Sinovation Ventures, Meituan-Dianping, Gaorong, and IDG, according to AVCJ Research.
Last year, Tencent led a 74 million Series B and Boyu Capital then led a RMB1 billion Series C round. Tencent, CICC Capital, and Gaorong also took part in the Series C.
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