VB Salon Episode 47: 'Behind the Transformation of Smart Laboratories' – Session 2

With the advancement of biotechnology, market demand for drug development, biological experiments, and testing has surged. Meanwhile, routine laboratory operations still largely rely on manual procedures, involving substantial repetitive and mechanistic tasks. This has led to high labor costs, low experimental efficiency, and uncontrollable data quality.

A variety of digital and automated technologies have created opportunities for the transformation of laboratories. To gain a deeper understanding of the current development of smart laboratories in China, VCBeat’s second session of the “Dialogue: Behind the Transformation of Smart Laboratories” event continues with exciting discussions, inviting Shipu Technology and Matrix Partners China to examine the present and deliberate on the future.

[Smart Laboratory] Issue 2

Event Time: April 12, 2022, 20:00–21:00

Guest Speakers: Li Kang from iLabService, and Xiong Fei from Matrix Partners China

Format: Online Livestream via Tencent Meeting (Add the assistant to join the discussion group for early access to industry news and livestream details)

Li Kang | Founder & CEO of iLabService, Shipu Technology

Bachelor’s degree in Mechatronics from Zhejiang University; Master’s degree in Robotics from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Laboratory solutions expert with over 12 years of experience in product R&D, product management, project management, and sales management within the laboratory industry at Agilent Technologies, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and 3M. Recipient of honors including “Shanghai Entrepreneurial Talent” (2018) and “Shanghai Emerging Entrepreneur” (2019).

Xiong Fei | Partner at Matrix Partners China

Xiong Fei joined Matrix Partners China in 2011, focusing on B2B investments, including SaaS, developer services, new supply chains, and more. He led investments in PingCAP, Beisen, Taimei Medical Technology, XiaoPangXiong, GaiaWorks, YaoYanShe, Nuoxin, E-MRO, Shupeng Technology, Shangshangqian, NebulaGraph, Jiage Data, Chaitin Tech, Liexin, Scientific Compass, Banniu, and APISIX.

Prior to joining the venture capital industry, Xiong Fei served as a product manager at Alibaba and Tencent, respectively. He holds both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Communication Engineering from Beihang University, as well as a second bachelor’s degree in Economics from Peking University.

Xiong Fei has been honored as one of the “20 Most Insightful Tech Investors in 2021” by Jiazi Guangnian, one of “36Kr’s Remarkable Investors of 2021,” a three-time recipient of the “36 Under 36 Investors” award by 36Kr, and one of the “Top 20 Investors in China’s Enterprise Services Sector in 2020.”

iLabService (Shanghai) Information Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “iLabService”) is committed to “leading digital and intelligent laboratory services.” Focusing on the laboratory sector, the company leverages AIoT, IoT-based digital intelligence platforms, and artificial intelligence technologies to help laboratories across various industries ensure safety and compliance, improve efficiency while reducing costs, and empower data-driven decision-making. Founded in 2016, iLabService has been selected by top global accelerators Y Combinator and Microsoft for Startups. Headquartered in Shanghai with its R&D center in Hangzhou, the company maintains branches across China and currently employs over 150 people.

The company’s clients are widely distributed across industries such as biopharmaceuticals, inspection and monitoring, research institutes, smart regulatory supervision, chemistry and chemical engineering, industrial parks and public service platforms, and food and cosmetics. Through its five core products—“MonitorCare,” “InstrumentCare,” “InventoryCare,” “SampleCare,” and “DataTreasure”—the company provides customers with a comprehensive digital and intelligent laboratory solution: the “LabCare” Laboratory Digital Intelligence Management Platform. This platform helps customers achieve automated and intelligent management across the five key aspects of personnel, equipment, materials, methods, and environment, thereby comprehensively enhancing operational efficiency.

Matrix Partners China was founded in 2008, with assets under management exceeding RMB 50 billion. As a leading venture capital firm in the industry, it has long focused on early-stage and early-growth investments, specializing in sectors such as new technologies, hard tech, industrial digitalization, healthcare, frontier technologies, and new consumer trends. To date, it has invested in more than 700 companies, including XPeng Motors, Li Auto, Futu Securities, Chehaoduo Group, Ele.me, Youzan, Ronbay Technology, XGIMI, Momo, PingCAP, Peijia Medical, Career International, Kemai Diagnostics, Beisen, LexinFintech, Zihai Guo, Chuanzhi Education, MetaX, Jane Love, SemiDrive Technology, Megarobo, AcuityChip, X-Epic, Enhe Bio, and Adimune.

Since its founding over a decade ago, Matrix Partners China has built an investment team of more than 40 professionals, maintaining a strong focus on the Chinese market and early-to-growth stage ventures. Meanwhile, we firmly uphold the principle of “founders first” and have established a robust post-investment service system. Our 80-member post-investment team, spanning ten different functional areas, empowers portfolio companies across strategy, operations, talent, and other key dimensions, striving to deliver maximum value to entrepreneurs.

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