Bamboo Stone Technology Files IPO Prospectus: A Full-Stack Digital Intelligence Platform Revolutionizing Medical Education

"Clinging to the green mountains, never letting go; Rooted deep in the broken rocks. Through countless trials and blows, still strong and steadfast; Let the winds blow from east, west, south, or north."

—Qing Dynasty, Zheng Xie, "Bamboo and Rock"

Qing Dynasty poet Zheng Xie could hardly have imagined that his poem “Bamboo and Stone” would, more than a century later, inspire a post-1980s engineering graduate from Nanjing to use technology as his brush, sketching a magnificent landscape on the solemn and vast canvas of medical education.

“I really like this poem, especially the connotations of ‘taking root’ and ‘striving upward.’ I hope our company can take root in the industry and strive for excellence, leveraging cutting-edge technology to drive innovation in the medical and education sectors. I also hope our company’s growth will be like bamboo, rising steadily with each joint.” Zhou Jian, founder of Zhushi Technology, introduced to VCBeat with a shy smile.

On March 12, 2023, this high-tech enterprise specializing in the research and development of digital medical teaching products and virtual simulation-based medical education celebrated its fourth anniversary.

Zhushi Information integrates industrial research, product development, and industry applications, dedicated to the practice and application of new technologies in the field of medical education. It is one of the few manufacturers in China with a comprehensive product line of informatized and digital systems for medical education. The company’s core technologies include cloud computing, big data analytics, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), extended reality (XR), fusion projection, human pose recognition, speech recognition, and bioinformatics analysis.

Before embarking on his entrepreneurial journey, Zhou Jian was deeply rooted in technological innovation. Starting as an entry-level programmer, he steadily climbed the career ladder to become Vice President of Technology, with expertise spanning the internet, finance, and healthcare sectors.

At that time, Zhou Jian identified the medical education sector as a “dark horse” track with substantial commercial potential.

On the one hand, medicine is a profession that requires lifelong learning, with exceptionally high demands for education. However, in the past, medical training was largely provided by manufacturers of teaching aids or medical devices, leaving considerable room for improvement in terms of technical attributes and operational experience. Furthermore, due to the inherent specificities of the healthcare industry, the adoption of new technologies in the medical field has lagged slightly behind that of the IT sector.

On the other hand, with the aging population, there is a surge in medical demand, especially for primary care. Digital medical education products can not only universally enhance the convenience of learning for medical students and doctors, meeting the industry's educational needs but also enable doctors in remote areas to access high-quality medical educational resources, thereby improving China’s overall level of medical services.

The market landscape is vast, with few competitors. Zhou Jian acted decisively, reaching out to former partners and colleagues to rapidly assemble a highly capable technical team built on mutual trust and collaboration. Zhou believes that management should not merely pursue individual excellence; rather, it requires teamwork and efficient operations to steer the company toward steady, long-term success.

“We are the only company in the industry that provides full-stack solutions for medical education informatization, big data, and virtual simulation,” Zhou Jian proudly told VCBeat. Zhushi Information has deeply cultivated the vertical niche of medical education informatization and virtual simulation teaching content systems, offering one-stop services that include an integrated software-hardware platform, professional training content development, and personalized operational support for every stage of clinical skills education and training.

Compared with other digital intelligence-based medical education platforms, Zhushi Information’s competitive advantages are mainly reflected in two aspects. First, it provides comprehensive solutions. The company has developed more than 50 software products and offers hardware and software for information management, virtual simulation-based digital teaching, patient simulators for training, and other medical equipment and services. These offerings cover dozens of mainstream clinical departments, including emergency medicine, clinical practice, nursing, public health, stomatology, rehabilitation, traditional Chinese medicine, medical imaging, and obstetrics and gynecology, thereby meeting the diverse training and management needs of students, teachers, physicians, administrators, and other stakeholders.

Secondly, Zhushi Information does not limit its positioning to that of a software service provider. Instead, it emphasizes both “medicine” and “technology,” continuously delivering professional medical content while maintaining a robust technological foundation, thereby assisting users in advancing teaching and research within specialized disciplines. Furthermore, the company participates in the overall project construction and design planning of large-scale simulation teaching centers, providing users with consultative services.

Product Architecture of Zhushi Information

In any industry, proper guidance in mindset is particularly crucial. This is even more true for medical education, which sits at the intersection of two serious sectors: the broader health industry and the education and cultural industry. Clinical reasoning, in particular, determines the level of a physician’s competence. Based on this, Zhushi Information has establishedClinical Reasoning Training and Assessment System。

This product features built-in teaching cases based on authentic clinical diagnostic reasoning, all reviewed and edited by authoritative experts in diagnostics.

A Comprehensive Simulated Case Examination System. Students can utilize this platform for case study learning and simulation training to enhance their clinical judgment skills. Instructors can use the platform for case-based teaching, as well as for monitoring and evaluating student training and assessment processes. The backend management system primarily features user management and case library development modules, equipped with administrative and statistical analysis capabilities. This system is applicable not only to medical school education but also to physician training and scientific research.

Big Data Systems and Platforms for Medical EducationIt is another flagship product from Zhushi Technology. Built on the Hadoop platform, it features a customizable visual data cockpit that provides scientific and effective decision-making and management empowerment.

This software serves a broad user base, including students, teachers, and administrators. Its system algorithms tailor, provide feedback on, and refine management and learning strategies based on the specific circumstances and data of each user. Zhou Jian cited an example: while many short-video platforms use algorithms to push content based on user preferences, what users like is not necessarily what they need. Therefore, in designing its software and algorithms, Zhushi Information customizes solutions according to individual user profiles, making recommendations that balance both “preferences” and “needs,” thereby achieving the goal of integrating education with entertainment and embedding learning within engaging experiences.

Furthermore,3D Virtual Simulation SeriesIt is also Zhushi Information’s flagship product. Built on a B/S architecture, it serves current students, faculty, and school administrators, enabling the open sharing of virtual simulation teaching resources within the campus as well as broader practical teaching resources beyond the campus. It meets the needs of multiple colleges for virtual simulation-based practical teaching and establishes a new model for hands-on training instruction.

Leveraging its robust technical expertise and strong innovation drive, Zhushi Information launched its first OSCE Multi-Station Assessment Management System and Medical Education Big Data Analytics and Visualization Platform within four months of its establishment, followed by the intensive release of multiple medical education software products in the subsequent months.

Zhushi Information Continuously Integrates New Technologies into the Development of Its Medical Education Platform

Zhou Jian proudly told VCBeat that Zhushi Information achieved profitability in its first year of operation, establishing a virtuous cycle of self-sustaining growth. Currently, the company has reached an annual revenue level in the tens of millions. Even amid the significant impact of the pandemic, the company maintained counter-trend growth of 20%–30% per year over the past two years.

Zhushi Information has partnered with over 100 leading hospitals and medical institutions across China, including Nanjing Medical University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Fujian Provincial Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, General Hospital of the Western Theater Command, Southwest Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, and Nanjing Children’s Hospital. It provides them with multiple immersive, interactive, and exploratory virtual simulation teaching solutions, achieving a customer repurchase rate of over 50%.

From a handful of individuals to nearly 100 employees; from a single city to coverage across 23 provinces in China, providing services to over 300 hospitals and medical schools. Over the past four years, Zhushi Information has consistently advanced with determination, upholding its vision of “focusing on digital intelligence technologies to empower the medical education sector.”

Driven by factors such as the growing healthcare workforce, technological advancements, and the widespread adoption of online education, the medical education market is poised for a new surge. We are confident that Zhushi Information will continue to uphold its original mission and goal of “leveraging cutting-edge technology to drive industry innovation,” using the keys of technology and innovation to unlock more scenarios and meet diverse needs within the medical education sector.

Currently, Zhushi Information is seeking a new round of financing.