Thorough Future Secures Nearly RMB 100 Million in Series A+ Funding to Accelerate Digital and Intelligent Pathology Adoption

Recently, Thorough Future announced the completion of its nearly RMB 100 million Series A+ financing round. This round was led by BIOCHING CAPITAL and Zhongke Angel, with existing investors Qiming Venture Partners, KIP Capital, and RY Investment participating as follow-on investors. The proceeds will be primarily used to upgrade its intelligent pathology diagnosis platform, develop large pathology models, apply for medical device registration certificates, and promote and implement digital and intelligent pathology departments.

Pathological Diagnosis as the “Gold Standard” for Disease Diagnosis, providing an objective basis for disease diagnosis, classification, and treatment planning, as well as for assessing disease progression, prognosis, and therapeutic efficacy. However, pathology encompasses numerous specialized disciplines, including anatomy, histology, biology, and microbiology. Physicians must integrate vast amounts of information, such as tissue architecture and cellular morphology, to comprehensively determine the nature of a disease. This not only constrains diagnostic efficiency but also increases the risk of medical errors, including misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis.

Meanwhile,The level of pathology department development determines the height of a hospital's growth, and the extent of its construction is also linked to the hospital's classification. The accuracy, reliability, and comprehensiveness of pathological diagnostic results directly affect patients' treatment outcomes and satisfaction, thereby influencing the hospital's medical quality and reputation.

Driven by key elements such as knowledge, data, algorithms, and computing power, large language models are gradually becoming an unstoppable force in the healthcare sector, while also steadily advancing the digitalization and intelligent transformation of China’s pathology industry. As a crucial component of China’s “Smart Hospitals,” smart pathology effectively meets the current clinical demands for precision diagnosis and treatment.

Academician Bian Xiuwu of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has also stated at public forums that,Pathological diagnosis remains the most accurate diagnostic method; however, diagnostic “gray zones” still exist, leading to diagnostic deviations. This necessitates the development of new diagnostic strategies that are multi-method, cross-scale, and multi-omics-based, incorporating an artificial intelligence-assisted, big data-driven diagnostic system.

In this context,In September 2023, Thorough Future released the Thorough Brain pathological large model.This large pathology model is built on massive pathological datasets and an advanced Transformer architecture. It has learned from digital pathology data across dozens of human organs, establishing foundational recognition of morphological features in diseased tissues of various organs, thereby serving as a technical foundation for diverse applications.

Through subsequent continuous learning, the model can also perform downstream tasks such as semantic segmentation, object detection, and instance segmentation. It can even read pathological slides in a human-like manner and automatically generate pathological diagnosis reports, holding great promise for significantly improving the accuracy and efficiency of pathological diagnosis.

As anticipated, Thorough Brain, as a pioneering technology, will play an extensive role across various fields, including pathological diagnosis, scientific research, and education. It brings revolutionary intelligent solutions to pathological diagnosis and lays a solid foundation for personalized treatment.

In March 2024, Thorough Future released the latest product of its intelligent pathology diagnosis platform—Thorough Insights v3.0.Thorough Insight v3.0 not only optimizes algorithms to make diagnoses more accurate and reliable, but also enriches its functionalities by intelligently integrating with pathology information systems. This provides pathologists with more diagnostic tools and options, further enhancing usability and efficiency. Additionally, Thorough Insight v3.0 features a redesigned diagnostic interface that, while aesthetically improved, better aligns with the diagnostic workflows of pathologists.

In addition,Thorough Future’s pathological diagnosis image processing software, Thorough Core, also successfully obtained China’s first medical device registration certificate for multi-organ histology in 2023,This enables AI-based multi-organ histological image analysis and provides clinicians and researchers with more comprehensive and convenient data support.

As an industry leader in smart pathology, Thorough Future will continue to uphold its core values of serving customers through technology, leading product development with innovation, staying true to its original mission with integrity, and creating win-win outcomes through collaboration. With the mission of making the dream of pathological science a reality, the company is committed to advancing the digitalization and intelligence of pathology and empowering clinical diagnosis and treatment. Following this round of financing, the company will remain dedicated to building an integrated oncology diagnosis and treatment platform that seamlessly integrates the entire workflow of pathological diagnosis, quantitative analysis, target prediction, and prognostic assessment. This initiative aims to establish a new paradigm for clinical applications and provide patients with more precise and efficient medical services.

No path is lonely; together, we go far. Thorough Future looks forward to working hand in hand with its partners to jointly write a new chapter in the high-quality development of China’s healthcare industry, making greater contributions to human health and well-being.

Regarding this round of financing,Mr. Liu Yanbin, CEO of Thorough Future, stated:Since its establishment, Thorough Future has been committed to promoting the intelligence and precision of pathological diagnosis through technological innovation, with the aim of providing higher-quality medical services to patients. Through unremitting efforts and continuous innovation, Thorough Future will contribute its strength to the healthcare industry and make greater contributions to human health and well-being. We look forward to working hand in hand with all our partners to jointly write a new chapter in the high-quality development of China’s healthcare sector. We sincerely thank BIOCHING CAPITAL, Zhongke Angel, Qiming Venture Partners, KIP Capital, and RY Investment for their trust and support in Thorough Future, as well as our shareholders Hongdao Capital, Kuai Chuang Ying, Puhua Capital, Turing Ventures, Panlin Capital, and Ausilver Capital for their consistent recognition and assistance. Let us join hands to create a healthier and smarter future.

Dr. Wang Shuhao, CTO of Thorough Future, stated:Technological innovation is the core driving force propelling Thorough Future forward. In the medical field, every technological breakthrough has the potential to bring hope to patients and provide physicians with more precise diagnostic and therapeutic tools. We are committed to applying cutting-edge artificial intelligence technologies to pathological diagnosis. These achievements not only represent our technological breakthroughs but also underscore our commitment to enhancing healthcare quality. We extend our gratitude to all investors and partners who have supported us. Looking ahead, we will continue to explore and innovate in the field of medical AI, contributing Thorough Future’s strength toward achieving smarter and more precise medical diagnostics.

Dr. Liu Mingyu, Partner at BIOCHING CAPITAL, stated:The application of artificial intelligence in healthcare has become widespread, with another wave of rapid development driven by the continuous iteration of large language models over the past two years. Pathology, particularly histopathology, which serves as the “gold standard” for cancer diagnosis, still faces many urgent challenges in areas such as talent development, diagnostic efficiency, and quality improvement. With the rapid advancement of digital pathology infrastructure, pathological AI is now at an ideal stage for growth. Over the past two years of continuous observation, we have seen that Thorough Future has made remarkable progress beyond expectations in R&D, clinical implementation, and commercialization, gradually establishing a leading industry position and building strong competitive moats. Pathological AI represents a burgeoning and vast blue-ocean market. BIOCHING CAPITAL is committed to partnering with Thorough Future to contribute technological innovation toward making the pathology industry more intelligent, efficient, and human-centered.

Dr. Dong Weinan, Investment Director of Zhongke Angel Fund, stated:Advancements in AI technology are accelerating the transformation of the healthcare sector, with Thorough Future leading the AI pathology industry into a fast lane. Leveraging an ultra-high-quality database and pioneering algorithmic pathways, Thorough Future’s AI pathology tools have transcended traditional AI-assisted diagnostic models. These tools enable AI to more closely mimic the learning, thinking, and reasoning patterns of human physicians. Furthermore, AI pathology can uncover additional latent visual features and innovative digital biomarkers, providing new informational dimensions for the diagnosis and treatment of various diseases. This disruptive innovation aligns precisely with what the CAS Angel Fund has long sought and supported.The CAS Angel Fund was jointly established by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Fund of Funds and Jiadao Capital. Guided by its mission to “pursue the endless frontiers of science and stand at the forefront of industrial trends,” the fund is dedicated to identifying and nurturing early-stage, disruptive, and forward-looking technology projects, thereby promoting the commercialization of outstanding domestic scientific and technological achievements. We look forward to Thorough Future continuing to innovate and self-renew on its path of technological breakthroughs, driving transformation in the healthcare industry through the vitality of technology, and ultimately delivering greater well-being to patients.

Mr. Mao Shuo, Executive Director of Qiming Venture Partners, stated:Leveraging its exceptional technical prowess and profound understanding of the healthcare industry, Thorough Future has successfully developed an innovative intelligent pathology diagnosis platform and a large pathology model. This achievement not only demonstrates its professional capabilities in the field of artificial intelligence but also highlights its unwavering commitment to enhancing the efficiency and accuracy of medical diagnostics. We firmly believe that Thorough Future’s innovations in pathological diagnosis will significantly drive the digital transformation of the healthcare industry, delivering more precise and efficient medical services to patients. We look forward to Thorough Future continuing to deepen its expertise in intelligent pathology, constantly pushing boundaries and leading industry development.

Mr. Yang Zesheng, Founder of RY, stated:RY’s investment in Thorough Future is grounded in our firm confidence in its team, technology, and vision. Thorough Future not only boasts a highly skilled and innovative team but also possesses a clear development strategy and an ambitious vision, which are precisely what we value. As Thorough Future continues to innovate in areas such as its intelligent pathology diagnosis platform and large pathology models, we believe the company will deliver greater value to the healthcare industry and provide patients with more precise and efficient medical services. We look forward to exploring the future of medical technology together with Thorough Future and contributing to the cause of human health.

Dr. Li Bingmin of KIP Capital stated:With its breakthrough achievements in the field of intelligent pathology diagnosis, Thorough Future has not only demonstrated its professional expertise in integrating artificial intelligence with medical technology but also injected new vitality into the development of the entire healthcare industry. Investing in Thorough Future is an investment of confidence in the future of healthcare, as well as a firm endorsement of innovative technology driving social progress. We look forward to collaborating with the Thorough Future team to jointly explore and realize greater possibilities. In the days ahead, we will continue to support Thorough Future’s growth, facilitating its innovation and advancement in the global medical technology sector.