Pharma MarTech Leader Yibai Tech Secures Tens of Millions in Series B Funding and Files for IPO

VCBeat has learned that Beijing Yibai Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Yibai Tech”), a provider of comprehensive solutions for pharmaceutical marketing technology (Pharma MarTech), recently announced the completion of its Series B financing round, amounting to tens of millions of US dollars. The round was led by HM CAPITAL, with participation from KIP Capital. Lighthouse Capital served as the exclusive financial advisor for this financing round.Following the completion of this funding round, Yibai Technology will further increase its investment in research and development to accelerate the expansion of new business ventures.

Yibai Technology, founded in 2016, focuses on empowering the marketing operations of pharmaceutical and medical device companies through technology, providing full-lifecycle management services for pharmaceutical marketing. Previously, digital marketing services for these enterprises in the industry largely relied on physician communities and medical content. In contrast, Yibai Technology leverages its self-developed Pharma MarTech underlying technical architecture. With its product offerings—including digital marketing services, intelligent field force management, internet hospital solutions, and an intelligent data platform—the company covers the entire marketing chain connecting “enterprises, physicians, patients, and pharmaceuticals.” Committed to delivering comprehensive technical solutions for the digital transformation of pharmaceutical and medical device companies, Yibai Technology is a leading provider of digital transformation services for pharmaceutical marketing in China.

In recent years, against a complex backdrop of tightening regulations, sluggish growth in the pharmaceutical market, and the ongoing pandemic, the digitalization of the pharmaceutical industry has witnessed significant development. According to a report by Frost & Sullivan, the market size of digital marketing for pharmaceuticals in China was only RMB 15.2 billion in 2020, is projected to reach RMB 113.3 billion by 2025, and is expected to hit RMB 363.3 billion by 2030, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 37%. Globally, the penetration rate of digital marketing among pharmaceutical companies reached 34% in 2020, whereas in China, it stood at merely 2.3%, indicating a nearly 15-fold gap compared to international levels. Gao Jianfei, Founder and CEO of Yibai Technology, predicts that online-offline integrated digital marketing will become the trend over the next decade. This trend can be quantified by two “Double 50” indicators: digital channels will account for 50% of pharmaceutical companies’ overall marketing resource allocation, and 50% of all interactions between pharmaceutical companies and physicians will occur through digital channels.

Over the past five years, YiBai Technology has invested over RMB 100 million in research and development, independently developing the 100.pMarTech SaaS platform. This platform encompasses a comprehensive product portfolio including 100.eMarketing for pharmaceutical digital marketing, 100.CRM+ Intelligent Representative Workbench, 100.eHospital Internet Hospital, and 100.AiData Intelligent Data Platform. YiBai Technology provides pharmaceutical companies with integrated solutions for “digital academic promotion, digital sales management, and digital doctor-patient management,” helping them achieve precision marketing, enhance sales conversion, and deliver full-cycle services and management for doctors and patients.

Since the outbreak in 2020, Medlive Technology has empowered the pharmaceutical industry by providing digital-exclusive platforms for medical associations and hospital departments, facilitating healthcare professionals in efficiently disseminating academic information and adding a human touch to medical care. Meanwhile, Medlive Technology has entered a period of significant growth opportunity; over the past two years, the number of healthcare enterprises served by Medlive Technology has grown rapidly, at an average rate of nearly one new client per day. Currently, Medlive Technology serves over 1,000 pharmaceutical companies and more than 100 associations, covering over one million physicians and tens of thousands of hospitals.

From 2019 to 2021, MedBai Technology achieved a nine-fold increase in performance, earning it a spot on the “Deloitte China Technology Fast 50 and Rising Stars 2021” list. This list is hailed as the “cradle of great tech enterprises,” with companies such as Tencent, Alibaba, JD.com, Baidu, ByteDance, Mindray Medical, and WuXi AppTec having been previously selected.

“Code changes the world, technology changes the world,” said Gao Jianfei.

The pharmaceutical industry features unique and complex scenarios; only enterprises with robust technical capabilities and rich industry insights can unlock immense potential for the sector.

Gao Jianfei has always regarded himself as a “technical professional” in the field of pharmaceutical marketing. In terms of technology empowerment, 40% of Yibai Technology’s team consists of R&D personnel, and the size of its technical team continues to expand. Meanwhile, Yibai Technology’s management team boasts a rare composite background spanning “marketing, pharmaceuticals, and technology.” As a serial successful entrepreneur, founder Gao Jianfei possesses combined expertise in marketing and pharmaceutical consulting. The core management team members all have over 10 years of experience in healthcare, enterprise services, technology R&D, and other related fields, demonstrating profound industry accumulation.

Over the past two years, YiBai Technology has independently developed an industry-leading, high-performance audio-video underlying technology platform. This platform features low latency, 4K/8K ultra-high definition, green-screen-free virtualization, and strong compatibility, supporting a wide range of video products such as academic annual conferences, satellite meetings, live surgical broadcasts, and virtual 3D video conferences. To date, YiBai Technology has filed 17 patent applications and registered more than 50 software copyrights, securing a leading position in both technological R&D and scenario adaptation.

Regarding the rationale for persisting in independent R&D of proprietary technologies, Gao Jianfei stated that, given the traditional scenarios of offline meetings and hospital visits in pharmaceutical marketing, the future of in-depth digital transformation will inevitably involve the integration of online and offline channels. At its core, this relies on audio-video technology. By focusing on enterprise digital transformation and deeply integrating foundational technologies with the industry’s complex and diverse scenarios, YiBai can develop innovative products that align with future trends and deliver customer value. This June, YiBai is set to launch its new medical conference product, 100.Live, which will elevate industry applications to new heights.

According to the company, its 100.eMarketing exclusive academic marketing platform has reached more than a thousand leading pharmaceutical and medical device companies, achieving exceptionally high customer stickiness. Leveraging Yibai’s full-scenario marketing solutions, the customer repurchase rate stands at 92%, while the net dollar retention (NDR) rate reaches as high as 198%. The 100.CRM+ Intelligent Representative Workbench, launched in the second half of last year, secured contracts with over a dozen pharmaceutical companies shortly after its release and has been seamlessly integrated with their exclusive academic marketing platforms. This product has been hailed by clients as “China’s Veeva.” Additionally, the 100.eHospital internet hospital product obtained the internet hospital license and other relevant qualifications in December last year, positioning it for imminent growth.

A leading domestic pharmaceutical company, a client of Medbai Technology, leveraged its exclusive digital platform as the cornerstone for academic promotion. Through online activities in 2021 alone, such as academic live streams and case collection campaigns, it reached over 30,000 physicians across more than 2,000 medical institutions. By constructing comprehensive user profiles of active participants, the company established tailored physician development frameworks, implemented tiered operational strategies, and optimized resource allocation, thereby significantly improving return on investment (ROI). Notably, the average number of healthcare professionals (HCPs) covered per representative increased by 50%, while the identification of high-potential target HCPs rose by approximately 32%. Powered by Medbai’s holistic solution, the pharmaceutical company achieved a comprehensive transformation in its digital marketing, substantially reducing marketing costs and achieving commercial operational efficiency that leads the pharmaceutical industry.

As Yibai Technology has continuously strengthened its innovation capabilities, increased investment in technological innovation, and boosted the output of new products, it has received high recognition from government authorities. In 2021, Yibai Technology was selected for Beijing’s list of “Little Giant” enterprises specializing in specialization, refinement, uniqueness, and innovation, and was designated as one of the “First Batch of Beijing Municipal Enterprise Technology Centers in 2021.” Meanwhile, the Yibai SaaS Cloud Platform successfully passed the National Classified Protection Level 3 certification and the Trusted Cloud Certification.

HM CAPITAL stated，Starting by serving numerous domestic pharmaceutical companies, Yibai Technology differs from most firms in the industry that offer digital marketing services; it is one of the few enterprises empowering the pharmaceutical industry’s digital transformation through SaaS-based marketing technology (Pharma MarTech). Drawing on the development trajectory of international markets, we believe that the field of digital pharmaceutical marketing in China is more likely to give rise to industry giants. We firmly recognize the Yibai Technology team’s profound insights into pharmaceutical marketing scenarios, its forward-looking R&D investments, and its strategic layout of a closed-loop marketing ecosystem encompassing “digital marketing–digital sales management–digital doctor-patient management,” which has already established formidable technical barriers within the industry. Over the past three years, we have witnessed Yibai Technology’s dedicated commitment and deep cultivation of the sector, and we look forward to its continued growth.

Mr. Lee Byung-min, Vice President of KIP Capital, stated,The digital penetration rate of marketing among Chinese pharmaceutical companies is far below the global average, making digital pharmaceutical marketing a market worth hundreds of billions. As a leading domestic provider of digital marketing services, Yibai demonstrates cutting-edge capabilities in both technological investment and industry insights. We observe Yibai’s differentiated business layout compared to its peers, and we are confident that an integrated marketing platform like Yibai Technology will certainly accelerate the industry’s digital transformation.

Xu Yinchuan, Executive Director of Lighthouse Capital, stated,Against the backdrop of the pharmaceutical marketing industry facing a digital inflection point and the imminent emergence of a trillion-yuan blue ocean, YiBai Technology leverages its profound expertise in both pharmaceuticals and marketing. Always centering on the needs of pharmaceutical companies, it provides rare end-to-end, full-scenario pharmaceutical marketing products and services within the industry. This one-stop solution addresses the marketing pain points of pharmaceutical enterprises, serving nearly 1,000 pharmaceutical and medical device companies while earning exceptional customer acclaim. As a scarce technology-driven company in this sector, YiBai Technology has invested heavily in R&D to independently develop an industry-leading high-performance audio-video underlying technology platform and a SaaS platform encompassing multiple products, thereby laying a solid foundation for the digital marketing transformation of pharmaceutical enterprises.