Cellsvision Secures Tens of Millions in Series A Funding from Wondfo to Accelerate AI-Powered Digital Pathology Solutions
Pathological diagnosis is the gold standard for diagnosing tumors and many other diseases. In recent years, driven by technological advancements, the rising number of cancer patients, and supportive national policies, the pathological diagnosis market has continued to expand, attracting numerous companies to enter the field and leading to frequent investment and financing activities within the industry.Recently, CELLSVISION, an AI-powered digital pathology company, announced the completion of its tens-of-millions-yuan Series A financing round, exclusively invested by Wondfo Biotech. The funds will be used to continue investing in R&D, enhance the product pipeline, intensify marketing efforts, and expand the team.
Wondfo Biotech (SZ.300482) is a listed company focused on the broader diagnostics sector, with nearly 30 years of deep expertise in the point-of-care testing (POCT) field and an annual revenue reaching RMB 2.8 billion. Following the establishment of a joint venture with the Belgian listed company BioCartis in 2018 to enter the molecular pathology market, Wondfo expanded into the pathology sector. It currently offers product lines in circulating tumor cells (CTC), immunohistochemistry, molecular pathology, and digital pathology. As an industrial investor, through comprehensive testing and professional judgment,Wondfo’s investment in CELLSVISION serves as a foundation for further expanding its footprint in the field of pathological diagnosis. By leveraging their complementary strengths in technology and market presence, the two parties aim to provide comprehensive solutions that better address the frontline needs of pathology departments through their collaboration.
CELLSVISION is a high-tech enterprise focused on big data and artificial intelligence R&D in the medical field, dedicated to providing end-to-end solutions for AI-assisted diagnostic workflows in smart pathology.The company's intelligent pathological image analysis system was approved for market launch in 2021 and has been implemented in clinical practice at more than ten Grade A tertiary hospitals.It has helped numerous pathologists improve diagnostic efficiency and accuracy. During a six-month due diligence period, Wondfo conducted extensive blind testing of CELLSVISION’s AI-assisted pathological image diagnosis system and carried out on-site visits to several hospitals, thereby validating the product’s clinical value and implementation capabilities.
Chen Rui, CEO of CELLSVISION, stated, “2021 marked a pivotal milestone for the commercialization of our products; therefore, we selected industrial investors for this funding round. CELLSVISION and Wondfo have formed complementary advantages in the pathology business sector. Moving forward, CELLSVISION will leverage Wondfo’s robust sales network to accelerate its market expansion.”
How did CELLSVISION, a young company founded just two years ago, win the favor of Wondfo? What are its differentiated advantages? Recently, VCBeat conducted exclusive interviews with Chen Rui, CEO of CELLSVISION, and co-founder Lu Yuzhe.
Before founding CELLSVISION, Chen Rui and Lu Yuzhe conducted extensive research and field investigations, visiting numerous frontline pathologists to identify clinical needs and pain points. Major challenges facing hospital pathology departments in China include a severe shortage of registered practicing pathologists, uneven distribution of pathology resources, prolonged diagnostic times, low efficiency, and excessive workloads. Among these, the scarcity of pathologists has become the primary factor constraining the development of the pathology industry. Data shows that there are currently fewer than 20,000 practicing pathologists in China. Based on the National Health Commission’s staffing requirement of one to two pathologists per 100 hospital beds, the shortfall exceeds 90,000 pathologists. While there is an urgent clinical demand for AI-powered pathology products, very few high-quality solutions have received regulatory approval for market launch.
In January 2019, CELLSVISION was officially established. Lu Yuzhe candidly remarked, “CELLSVISION was not founded during the peak period of fundraising for medical AI; by then, capital enthusiasm for investing in medical AI had already waned. Although numerous star enterprises in pathology AI had already emerged within the industry,”“However, we noted that no pathological AI products had obtained registration certificates at the time, and few products were actually implemented in clinical practice within hospitals. Therefore, although we appeared to be ‘a step behind,’ the CELLSVISION team possesses profound technical expertise and strong productization capabilities, positioning it well to achieve overtaking on a bend.”
Currently, CELLSVISION has demonstrated significant late-mover advantages in terms of product portfolio, speed of regulatory approval, clinical validation, and commercialization capabilities. The company has established deep collaborations with over ten hospitals. Addressing the real-world needs of clinical pathologists, CELLSVISION completed algorithm research and product development within just two years, building an AI-assisted diagnostic system for pathological images that features screening and recognition, diagnostic recommendations, and report generation. This system effectively improves physicians’ diagnostic efficiency and accuracy, leading the implementation of AI technology in pathology departments.
Currently,The company’s intelligent pathology image analysis system has been approved for market launch. Its cervical cytology computer-aided diagnosis system has been deployed in numerous Grade A tertiary hospitals and maternal and child health hospitals, deeply integrating into pathologists’ daily diagnostic workflows and achieving seamless integration with hospital information management systems.and has received high recognition from numerous physicians.
When discussing the reasons behind CELLSVISION’s rapid technological advancement, Chen Rui summarized them into three key factors:Close alignment with clinical needs, the exceptional execution capability of multidisciplinary teams, and a focused approach to product portfolio strategy and planning.
CELLSVISION maintains close ties with leading pathologists and regularly invites senior pathologists to the company for training, ensuring that all algorithm engineers and marketing personnel acquire a certain level of medical knowledge. This guarantees that product development meets clinical needs, truly realizing the principle of “R&D originating from clinical practice and products returning to clinical application.”
In terms of the team, Chen Rui, CEO of CELLSVISION, has many years of experience in market sales and management within the medical informatics sector. Co-founder Lu Yuzhe brings extensive investment experience from the venture capital (VC) industry. CTO Wang Jin is a seasoned expert in the global AI field. Another co-founder, with a background in biomedicine, possesses profound understanding and insight into clinical needs. This comprehensive, professional, and complementary team structure enables CELLSVISION to efficiently complete its business closed loop, encompassing clinical research, product development, and market promotion.
Notably,Dr. Jin Wang has many years of experience in the research, development, and management of artificial intelligence and big data products. He is listed in Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in Science and Engineering, and formerly served as Chief Data Scientist at HPE (Hewlett Packard Enterprise).Established the HPE India product team and the OVPI Shanghai team, served as Chief Innovation Mentor at the Shanghai R&D Center, and led the development of multiple flagship HPE products.
It is reported that team building has become a recent focus for CELLSVISION. The company is currently recruiting outstanding software algorithm engineers, architecture engineers, and pathologists. Leveraging Dr. Wang Jin’s extensive R&D achievements and management experience in the field of AI, the company is able to provide engineers with comprehensive and systematic opportunities for professional growth.
In terms of its product pipeline, CELLSVISION adopts the strategy of“Break through at a single point, expand gradually, and ultimately achieve comprehensive deployment”. The company initially selected the cervical cancer screening scenario.Cervical cancer screening, characterized by high demand, extensive data accumulation, and a high degree of marketization, is a key application scenario for pathology AI.The cervical cytology-assisted diagnostic system developed by CELLSVISION enables automated analysis, screening, and localization of liquid-based cervical cell images. It classifies abnormal cells in accordance with The Bethesda System (TBS) guidelines and detects pathological conditions such as microbial infections. Validated through multi-center clinical trials, the system demonstrates a sensitivity exceeding 97% and a specificity exceeding 85%.Moreover, the system’s algorithm demonstrates strong robustness and is compatible with mainstream histopathology reagents, slide preparation methods, and digital imaging scanners.
Furthermore, in June this year, CELLSVISION took the lead in launching its offerings at the 19th National Conference on Cytopathology of the Chinese Medical Association.Thyroid Cytology Computer-Aided Diagnosis System.Thyroid nodules have a high incidence rate, but malignant nodules account for only about 5%. Due to the difficulty in differentiating between benign and malignant nodules and a shortage of pathologists, thyroid cancer has become one of the most over-treated cancers in China.Developed by CELLSVISIONThis system enables automated, rapid, and efficient whole-slide cellular examination, accurately localizes pathological cells, and assists physicians in determining the benign or malignant nature of nodules, thereby avoiding overtreatment. It is one of the few pathology AI products in China capable of assessing nodule malignancy.
Moving forward, CELLSVISION will continue to focus on the AI-driven cytopathology sector, gradually expanding from cervical and thyroid cytology to broader clinical applications such as urothelial cytology and serous effusions (pleural and ascitic fluids). In the future, the company also plans to establish a presence in the histopathology sector.
Chen Rui stated, “The demand in the pathology AI sector is genuine, and physicians’ acceptance and recognition of AI products are growing day by day. The overall market prospects are enormous, making it worthwhile for vendors to deeply cultivate and expand this space.“As a leader in the pathology AI sector, CELLSVISION will continuously refine its product portfolio and optimize user experience based on clinical needs, while intensifying commercial promotion efforts to help pathologists improve efficiency and accuracy, enhance the pathological diagnostic capabilities of primary healthcare institutions, and optimize the allocation of medical resources. Meanwhile, the company will maintain an agile financing approach characterized by ‘small steps and fast runs,’ guided by the progress of R&D and Class III medical device registration approvals, as well as actual market promotion conditions, to continually enrich its product pipeline and accelerate commercial deployment.”