Oriental Hearing Completes $83 Million Series C Funding Round Led by Temasek, Taikang Investment, and Qianji Capital

VCBeat learned at the earliest opportunity that on June 2On the 5th, Ostlin, a leading domestic institution for children's speech rehabilitation and autism intervention, announced the completion of its $60 million C2 round of financing, led by Temasek and TaikangInvestmentCo-lead Investment. Taihe Capital continues to serve as the exclusive financial advisor.FollowingFollowing its Series C1 financing round in February 2021, Oriental Speech accumulated within four monthsComplete$83 millionofSeries C Financing,andGarnering favor from numerous leading strategic and financial investors both domestically and internationally, this funding round has also become the largest single-round financing in the field of pediatric speech rehabilitation and autism intervention.The company has historically received investments from Shidao Capital and its sister fund F-Prime Capital, Northern Light Venture Capital, and Changling Capital.

This round of financing will be used to further expand the network layout of direct-operated centers across cities in China, accelerate the advancement of clinical practice and curriculum development, and collaborate with prestigious domestic and international universities to establish a training and professional development system for speech-language therapists. As an industry leader, Oriental Voice (Dongfang Qiyin) will continue to broaden its course offerings to cater to diverse levels of need, build a technology-driven rehabilitation service ecosystem through effective resource integration, and achieve integrated “online + offline” management. The company aims to provide one-stop rehabilitation and development solutions for more children in need, while steadfastly promoting the localization of international standards for pediatric speech and autism intervention.

Founded in 2007, Ostalin has become the largest organization in China specializing in pediatric speech rehabilitation and autism intervention. The company is dedicated to helping children overcome developmental and learning disabilities by providing professional services in pediatric speech development, early screening, clinical training, and autism intervention. Currently, it operates 45 directly-managed centers in more than 19 cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou, with a team of over 1,200 professional rehabilitation therapists, having served more than 200,000 children to date. Given the high prevalence and unclear etiology of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), children with ASD require long-term, targeted, and systematic intervention training to better integrate into daily social life. Since its inception, Ostalin has remained committed to its mission, continuously increasing strategic investments in the localization of advanced international technologies, enhancement of clinical techniques, research and development of curriculum products, and training of professional talent.

Due to the significant talent shortage currently facing the industry, Eastern Speech places particular emphasis on the training and development of professionals. In 2019, it partnered with the School of Speech Pathology at the University of Newcastle in Australia to establish a Speech Therapy Assistant (STA) training system aligned with international standards. This May, Eastern Speech further signed an industry-academia-research cooperation agreement with Beijing Language and Culture University, aiming to jointly promote the establishment of standards for China’s speech rehabilitation industry, enhance practitioners’ technical skills through specialized discipline construction, and advance professional career development, thereby fundamentally addressing the substantial talent gap.

Mr. Yao Qiuwu, Founder and President of Oriental Speech, stated, “We aim to collaborate with prestigious universities and institutions both in China and abroad to jointly establish industry standards and advance discipline development, thereby cultivating more outstanding professional therapists. Our goal is to provide high-quality services that help children better integrate into society. Furthermore, Oriental Speech will commit to organically integrating next-generation technologies, such as big data and AI, with therapists’ clinical practices. Through systematic curriculum development and dissemination, we strive to create professional, evidence-based intervention programs.”

Huang Shengxuan, CEO of Beijing Taikang Investment Management Co., Ltd., a co-lead investor in this round, stated that the market for pediatric autism treatment and speech rehabilitation offers significant long-term growth potential. On one hand, rising awareness and advancements in diagnostic and therapeutic technologies have solidified the rigid demand for rehabilitation services; on the other hand, there is a severe shortage of high-quality rehabilitation service providers. Dongfang Qiyin is an industry leader in scale and possesses extensive experience in large-scale operations within the fields of speech rehabilitation and autism treatment. The company’s management team is highly experienced, with outstanding capabilities in integrating international resources, establishing competitive advantages across curriculum development, talent training, data accumulation, and clinic coverage. Dongfang Qiyin’s endeavors hold clear social value and long-term commercial viability. “Respecting Life, Caring for Life” constitutes Taikang’s core values. We will leverage Taikang’s business resources in the medical and broader health industries to empower the company and serve as a long-term strategic partner to Dongfang Qiyin.

Temasek is an investment company with a net portfolio value of S$306 billion (equivalent to RMB 1.52 trillion) as of March 31, 2020. The Temasek Charter defines our roles as investors, institutions, and stewards of assets, shaping our philosophy and mission to pursue excellence, fulfill our mandate, and benefit future generations. Our investment philosophy is guided by four major themes: transforming economies, growing middle class, strong comparative advantages, and emerging champions. We actively seek sustainable solutions to address current and future challenges, seize investment and other opportunities, and help build a better, smarter, and more sustainable world. Headquartered in Singapore, Temasek maintains 11 offices worldwide.

Beijing Taikang Investment Management Co., Ltd. (“Beijing Taikang Investment”) is among the first batch of insurance private equity fund managers approved by the former China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) and serves as a specialized private equity fund management platform under Taikang Asset Management. Adhering to Taikang Asset’s investment culture driven by research and excellence, Beijing Taikang Investment aims to establish itself as a leading, professional, and market-oriented private equity institution. The company employs a three-pronged investment strategy driven by direct investment funds (Zhangjiagang Taikang Qianzhen Equity Investment Partnership (Limited Partnership)), fund-of-funds (Zhangjiagang Taikang Qianheng Equity Investment Partnership (Limited Partnership)), and insurance ecosystem resources, focusing on outstanding enterprises and top-tier vertical sector funds in the big health, innovative technology, and major consumption sectors. To date, the team has completed investments totaling billions of RMB, with representative portfolio companies including Didi Chuxing, Meituan Dianping, Innovent Biologics, MicroTech Medical, and Jinshi Gene.