Bingjing Intelligence Completes Tens of Millions RMB Pre-A Financing Led by Daotong Investment to Advance Cardiac Interventional Imaging

Suzhou ICE Intelligent Healthcare Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “ICE”) recently announced the completion of its Pre-A financing round, raising tens of millions of yuan. The new round was led by Dalton Venture, with participation from Su Gaoxin Financial Holdings, while existing investor MARATHON VENTURE PARTNERS continued to increase its investment. The funds raised will be used to accelerate the research and development, clinical trials, and market promotion of the company’s products, including HD-ICE (next-generation high-definition, high-speed intracardiac echocardiography), 3D-ICE, and 4D-ICE.

Previously, ICE completed its Angel+ round of financing in November 2022; in August 2022, it closed its angel round led by MARATHON VENTURE PARTNERS with participation from Yinglian Health Fund; and in January 2022, it secured seed-stage investment from MARATHON VENTURE PARTNERS.

ICE, established in October 2021, specializes in cardiovascular interventional imaging. Built on a foundation of acoustics and leveraging imaging as its core technology, the company is dedicated to the digital healthcare revolution. It designs, develops, and manufactures specialized digital interventional imaging products for heart and vascular diseases, committed to advancing digital cardiovascular interventional imaging and empowering the entire spectrum and workflow of diagnosis and treatment for cardiovascular diseases through digitalization.

ICE was co-founded by senior experts from the industrial, medical, and scientific communities. The company’s founder, Zhang Jihong, previously served at GE Healthcare’s global headquarters and brings over 10 years of experience in the medical device industry, with a career spanning the entire ultrasound value chain—from upstream product development to downstream market sales. ICE’s founding team comprises seasoned professionals from leading specialized medical device companies such as “GPS” (GE Healthcare, Philips, Siemens Healthineers), Johnson & Johnson, Abbott, and MicroPort Scientific Corporation.

The company has developed the next-generation high-definition, high-speed intracardiac echocardiography (HD-ICE) system, which is better adapted to the requirements of structural heart disease interventions. Leveraging mature commercial ultrasound technology, the product introduces innovations across five key stages of the imaging chain, achieves domestic production of three critical components, and overcomes three major systemic technical challenges. The HD-ICE system features an industry-first new-generation acoustic energy conversion system that effectively enhances signal acquisition, transmission efficiency, and image clarity. Additionally, the company has designed a proprietary catheter manipulation system specifically for cardiac interventions, enabling precise 360-degree omnidirectional control. Furthermore, the HD-ICE system incorporates China’s first dedicated high-definition cardiac image processing system, utilizing the latest soft beamforming algorithm technology to achieve faster imaging speeds, thereby meeting a broader range of clinical needs.

ICE is the first domestic manufacturer whose entire supply chain is 100% free of imported components. It has established comprehensive Class 10,000 cleanroom production facilities and manufacturing systems, maximizing supply chain security, cost controllability, and stable mass-production capacity. This enables high-cost-performance, domestically produced intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) products to be truly promoted and applied to patients in China.

Since its establishment in 2021, ICE has invested substantial capital and human resources in the research and development of intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) products, continuously improving overall product performance, and is set to build China’s first automated mass-production line for ICE devices. Currently, the company has established a R&D and process manufacturing center spanning thousands of square meters, equipped with the world’s most advanced precision R&D equipment, China’s only acoustic simulation testing facility, and China’s only automated production inspection system.

Since its inception, ICE has remained committed to developing core technologies and holds independent intellectual property rights. The company has established four core platforms: ultra-high-end/high-end ultrasound transducers, active interventional catheters, next-generation soft-beam imaging algorithm platforms, and ultrasound host systems. Looking ahead, the company will continue to optimize its development by building comprehensive R&D and manufacturing teams specializing in transducer research and development, bonding process development, ultrasound imaging algorithm development, and ultrasound modeling and navigation algorithm development. From probes and catheters to host systems, ICE aims to establish a complete, closed-loop ecosystem with high technological barriers. By investing heavily in large-scale high-end hardware equipment, implementing high-precision fully automated production control, and localizing the production of all core components, the company will achieve the advantage of offering high-performance products at low costs, thereby addressing intense domestic market competition and supporting its global expansion strategy.

To date, the ICE team has united and advanced together, leveraging a rigorous attitude and strong execution capabilities to achieve multiple breakthroughs in its field:

The first manufacturer in the industry to adopt a second-generation high-performance acoustic energy conversion system;

The first manufacturer in the industry to adopt AI algorithms for optimizing ICE ultrasound imaging systems;

The first domestic manufacturer to specialize in cardiac interventional imaging, with a comprehensive product portfolio covering 2D/HD/3D/4D-ICE;

The first domestic manufacturer to adopt a soft-beam high-speed imaging algorithm platform;

The first domestic manufacturer to adopt specialized cardiac ultrasound supporting ICE imaging;

The first domestic manufacturer to achieve full localization of its supply chain.

Recently, the HD-ICE system, independently developed by the ICE team, has successfully completed animal trials in China. The experimental results demonstrated favorable device safety and effective imaging performance. This intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) imaging system comprises a cardiac-specific color Doppler ultrasound diagnostic unit and an HD single-use intracardiac echocardiography catheter. It is indicated for imaging within cardiac chambers and large blood vessels, as well as for ultrasound visualization of other intracardiac devices.

ICE is accelerating the R&D of its 4D intracardiac echocardiography (4D-ICE) products. 4D-ICE plays a critical role in complex interventional procedures for structural heart disease. Currently, China has approximately 20 million patients with arrhythmias and 30 million with structural heart disease, with prevalence rates continuing to rise, leading to a growing demand for treatment. Improving the accuracy of intraoperative guidance and monitoring technologies, further reducing surgical risks, enhancing procedural success rates, and delivering better clinical benefits to both physicians and patients represent the most severe and urgent challenges facing the cardiovascular industry today. This latent demand will drive and accelerate the adoption and promotion of ICE technology in the fields of cardiac electrophysiology and interventional therapy for structural heart disease.

On the other hand, as no domestically produced intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) products have yet been approved for market launch in China, domestic cardiac electrophysiology manufacturers and industrial capital are actively positioning themselves in this product sector.

ICE’s independently developed HD-ICE product is officially entering the clinical trial phase for regulatory registration, effectively breaking the long-standing absence of domestically produced products in this field. Positioned as a specialist in cardiovascular interventional imaging, ICE provides imaging solutions for cardiac interventionists and enterprises from the perspective of interventional ultrasound. By establishing intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) technology as a shared platform, the company aims to foster collaborative innovation with domestic structural heart disease and cardiac electrophysiology companies, jointly enhancing the market competitiveness of comprehensive Chinese-made solutions for cardiac interventional procedures.

ICE’s technological innovations in focused ultrasound for cardiac electrophysiology and structural heart disease are dedicated to providing more effective treatments for a broader range of patients with heart conditions, breaking the long-standing monopoly of foreign technologies, and establishing itself as an internationally influential medical device brand under the “Made in China” label.

Regarding this round of financing,Lin Zhencheng, Managing Director of Dalton VentureStatement: With the aging of China’s population and economic development, the incidence and treatment penetration rate of cardiovascular diseases have been rising year by year. Following the advancements in European and American markets and technologies, intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) is increasingly being applied in various cardiac electrophysiology and structural heart intervention procedures, thanks to its clinical advantages such as high-resolution visualization of cardiac structures and blood flow information. We are delighted to collaborate with the Bingjing team, which boasts profound technical expertise, rich industrial experience, and efficient execution. Together, we are committed to the localization and innovation of key underlying components and technologies for intracardiac echocardiography (ICE), and to promoting the development of digital and intelligent cardiovascular interventional imaging, ultimately benefiting a broad patient population.

SND Financial HoldingsStatement: Medical devices have always been a key investment focus for the fund. With the release of the Chinese expert consensus on intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) and the rapid growth in the volume of electrophysiology and structural heart disease procedures, ICE utilization is poised for explosive growth. ICE Intelligent Healthcare’s technical reserves in ultrasound transducers, high-speed imaging algorithms, and data applications are impressive. Coupled with the team’s extensive clinical and commercial resources, we expect ICE Intelligent Healthcare to emerge as a leading enterprise in China’s ultrasound sector.

MARATHON VENTURE PARTNERSStatement: With the expansion and penetration of intracardiac interventional procedures, Intracardiac Echocardiography (ICE), as the optimal intraoperative imaging tool, faces excellent development opportunities, leading to rapid market growth. The core members of the ICE Intelligent Healthcare team each possess over 10 years of experience in marketing, clinical practice, and R&D within related fields. The team is well-structured with complementary skills and strong execution capabilities, and has established in-depth collaborations with top domestic and international experts in key technical areas. MARATHON VENTURE PARTNERS is optimistic about the company’s strategic direction of deepening its focus on cardiovascular interventional imaging based on its ICE product series. Through continuous technological and product innovation, the company aims to realize its vision of simplifying and standardizing complex procedures, thereby continuously improving the quality and accessibility of intracardiac interventional therapies.

Dalton Venture focuses on forward-looking medical innovation technologies and serves as the early-stage exclusive investor for multiple first-of-their-kind technology projects in China. Its investment portfolio encompasses VC funds, as well as angel funds in the Yangtze River Delta and the Greater Bay Area. The core team members all hail from the healthcare industry, with proven track records in incubating early-stage startups and founding and managing public companies with market capitalizations exceeding RMB 10 billion. Adhering to the philosophy of being not only value discoverers but also value creators, Dalton Venture has received numerous accolades, including Top 100 VC Firms and Top 20 Medical Device Investors by Zero2IPO. Notable portfolio companies include Landin Medicine, Deepwise Healthcare, Hannuo Medical, Triastek, and Heyuan Biology.

As the operator and manager of government guidance funds in Suzhou New District, the equity investment segment of Su Gaoxin Financial Holdings has built a fund investment system covering the entire corporate lifecycle—from angel investment, venture capital (VC), and private equity (PE) to industrial investment, mergers and acquisitions, and private placements. This system aligns with the strategic goal of Suzhou New District to foster innovative clusters in emerging industries such as photonics, high-end medical devices, integrated circuits, software and information technology, and green low-carbon technologies. The segment manages and participates in over 100 investment funds, with a total scale exceeding RMB 320 billion. It has supported 84 high-quality enterprises in achieving successful listings, including notable projects such as Canadian Solar (688472), Yutai Microelectronics (688515), GoodWe (688390), Hillstone Networks (688030), Huasheng Lithium (688353), and Rigol Technologies (688337).

MARATHON VENTURE PARTNERS, established in 2016, is an early-stage venture capital fund focused on the digital health technology sector. It targets early-stage companies in medical devices and equipment with core technologies and innovative business models, precision diagnostics, mobile healthcare and services, and health insurance technology firms. Its recent investments include Medbank Health (commercial health insurance technology), Shukun Technology (AI-based medical imaging), RealShine Technology (digital dental solutions), Mingyi Zhonghe (primary healthcare), Beideng Medical (a B2B trading platform for medical devices), and Jizhun Medical (early cancer screening based on gene sequencing).