ZhaoYang Doctor Completes Hundreds of Millions RMB Series B Financing to Build an Intelligent Mental Health Service Ecosystem

VCBeat has learned that on June 17, Zhaoyang Doctor, a digital diagnosis and treatment platform for psychiatric and psychological conditions, officially announced the completion of its Series B financing round, amounting to hundreds of millions of yuan. The round was co-led by Matrix Partners China and Qianji Capital, with participation from Oupu Family Office. According to reports, the funds will be used to strengthen the platform’s existing diagnostic and therapeutic services, expand its physician team and user base, and build a comprehensive smart ecosystem for mental health services.

As a platform providing comprehensive online and offline, in-hospital and out-of-hospital diagnostic and treatment services in the field of mental health management, Zhaoyang Doctor not only offers SaaS tools connecting patients with doctors but also operates physical psychiatric specialty clinics and pharmacies, addressing patient needs across all stages of diagnosis, medication, and psychological counseling.

Since its establishment in 2015, Zhaoyang Doctor has successfully completed five rounds of financing. The company’s continued ability to attract investor favor is clearly attributable to its years of deep engagement in the diagnosis and treatment of mental and psychological disorders, as well as the steady advancement and expansion of its business operations. Meanwhile, the core team’s unique insights into product and service offerings enable the provision of more trustworthy services to patients, while also empowering physicians and driving corporate development.

According to publicly available information, the overall prevalence of various mental and psychological disorders in China is currently 17.5%, affecting 250 million individuals. However, there is a significant shortage of psychiatrists, with fewer than two psychiatrists per 100,000 people, a figure that falls far short of international standards. Furthermore, long-standing issues such as the concentration of high-quality medical resources in first-tier cities and leading hospitals, as well as the imbalance between supply and demand for healthcare services, are also prevalent in the mental health sector.

Furthermore, mental and psychological disorders are characterized by two distinct features: a prolonged disease course and the need for continuous disease management services, which necessitates close communication between patients and healthcare providers.

For patients, uneven distribution of resources leads many to seek medical care in other regions; however, illness-related stigma can adversely affect their healthcare-seeking behavior. For physicians, traditional follow-up methods are not only inefficient but also fail to provide timely monitoring and management of disease progression, contributing to the persistently high relapse rates of mental disorders.

With 20 years of clinical experience, Dr. Lin Zhaoyu, founder of Zhaoyang Doctor, gained firsthand insight into many pain points in the diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric and psychological disorders, prompting him to build an online auxiliary diagnosis and treatment platform. Unlike other internet healthcare services that focus primarily on consultations, Zhaoyang Doctor was initially positioned as a tool for physicians, enabling them to join the platform and manage their patients. The platform provides doctors with features such as appointment scheduling, professional standardized pre-consultation questionnaires, and post-consultation follow-up systems, while offering patients a secure, private, time-saving, and efficient way to access medical care. This approach is known as the “S2B2C” model, whereby the Zhaoyang Doctor SaaS system empowers B-side physicians to serve C-side patients.

As patient demand continues to grow, Zhaoyang Doctor aims to become a platform connecting doctors and patients. It has established a multidisciplinary consultation system involving joint treatment by psychiatrists and psychotherapists. Leveraging its offline psychiatric specialty clinic, “Xinqing Clinic,” the company has built a pharmaceutical supply chain in collaboration with major pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors. This has created a comprehensive, patient-centric closed-loop service integrating “diagnosis and treatment–pharmaceutical supply–psychological counseling,” thereby implementing a combined treatment model of medication plus psychological counseling (MDT) and improving patient recovery rates.

Compared with diseases in internal medicine, surgery, gynecology, and pediatrics, psychiatric disorders are undoubtedly more suited to the internet healthcare model. Mental illnesses are chronic conditions that emphasize communication over equipment; their diagnosis generally does not rely on biochemical tests or physical examinations. They require frequent follow-up visits, a process compatible with online platforms. These characteristics also enable more efficient implementation of the entire service loop.

Within the entire service ecosystem, physicians serve as a core resource, enabling enhanced patient coverage—a key advantage of Zhaoyang Doctor. It is reported that psychiatrists on the Zhaoyang Doctor platform are primarily recruited from top-ranked public specialized hospitals across China, and all have accumulated many years of clinical experience prior to joining the platform.

Within Dr. Zhaoyang’s current service ecosystem, a significant advantage and distinguishing feature is the pharmaceutical supply chain built upon physical medical institutions.

Generally, medical institutions offer a more comprehensive range of medications compared to retail pharmacies and online pharmaceutical e-commerce platforms. The specialized outpatient qualifications of Xinqing Outpatient Clinic enable Zhaoyang Doctor’s formulary to achieve over 95% alignment with those of provincial-level psychiatric specialty hospitals nationwide. As a specialized psychiatric outpatient clinic, Xinqing Outpatient Clinic utilizes the same drug procurement channels as public hospitals, ensuring not only a complete variety of medications but also parity with public hospitals in terms of channel priority, cost, and quality.

Meanwhile, through a strategic “shared inventory” partnership with pharmaceutical wholesalers, Zhaoyang Doctor can provide patients with one-stop access to all psychiatric medications and other commonly used drugs. This model distinguishes itself from traditional pharmaceutical e-commerce platforms, enabling users to enjoy convenient and comprehensive medication delivery services without leaving home, thereby significantly enhancing service convenience and accessibility.

For patients, pharmacological treatment is necessary to stabilize their condition, but appropriate psychological counseling and psychotherapy are also essential interventions. The optimal therapeutic approach varies depending on the specific clinical presentation.

In recent years, with the deepening of research, treatment modalities for mental and psychological disorders have been continuously innovating. Taking digital therapeutics (DTx), which has gained prominence in recent years, as an example, multiple clinical studies have demonstrated that psychiatric DTx can directly ameliorate core symptoms of these disorders. It serves as a complementary intervention to traditional therapies, rather than merely enhancing adherence to them. Furthermore, psychiatric DTx is free from side effects, enables self-administered treatment anytime and anywhere, and is suitable for patients in early stages, those with mild conditions, or individuals for whom pharmacological interventions are inappropriate.

Currently, Zhaoyang Doctor is actively expanding into digital therapeutics. Additionally, it plans to introduce services such as mindfulness and meditation, which are beneficial for psychotherapy. Overall, through continuous service expansion, Zhaoyang Doctor aims to meet diverse needs across the spectrum—from mild to severe conditions, from initial offline consultations to online follow-ups, and from pharmacological treatment to psychological therapy—thereby building an ecosystem that integrates various mental health services and enhancing service accessibility.

Furthermore, leveraging data accumulated over years of platform operations, Zhaoyang Doctor can provide pharmaceutical companies with precise, de-identified analytical reports. These reports cover drug efficacy, side effects, indication analysis, as well as patient medication preferences and adherence. By offering references for drug R&D and marketing based on real-world data, this service aligns with the current digital marketing needs of pharmaceutical enterprises.

Since its inception, Zhao Yang Doctor has consistently upheld a rigorous approach to medicine and a profound reverence for life, diligently serving every user. While achieving steady and rapid growth, it has earned an excellent market reputation. Moving forward, Zhao Yang Doctor will focus on multiple application scenarios, including screening, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and chronic disease management, to build a comprehensive, end-to-end service management system covering the entire care cycle. By better empowering each user, the company strives to create a high-standard, high-quality, and trustworthy one-stop smart platform for mental health and psychological well-being, aiming to become a leader in this trillion-dollar market.

Specifically, Zhaoyang Doctor will establish offline physical entities, such as specialized outpatient clinics and psychological counseling centers, in multiple key cities to further strengthen its existing pharmaceutical supply chain and expand its reach. In addition, Zhaoyang Doctor will gradually intensify its consumer-facing (C-end) promotional efforts, actively pursue business-to-business (B-end) collaborations with industry-related enterprises, and diversify its mental health service models, thereby continuously expanding and refining its ecosystem to benefit a broader population.

Matrix Partners China stated, “Mental health diagnosis and treatment are highly suitable for digitalization. With increasing policy support from the state in the mental health sector, online mental health platforms present significant opportunities. By providing integrated online and offline services—including user communities, psychological counseling, and psychiatric diagnosis and treatment—Zhao Yang Doctor has improved physicians’ diagnostic efficiency and reduced patients’ costs associated with cross-regional care. Over the past year, the Zhao Yang team has demonstrated strong execution capabilities and refined operational expertise. We look forward to the team delivering more positive surprises to the market in the future.”

Qianji Capital stated: "We endorse Zhao Yang Doctor’s philosophy of 'diagnosis and treatment as the core' and its digital service model, and we are optimistic about the online potential of mental health products and services. While China’s healthcare industry has made significant strides in the 'Cure' domain, there remains a substantial gap in the 'Care' domain, with numerous issues and contradictions urgently requiring resolution. Digital healthcare is one of the key pathways to addressing these contradictions in the Care sector. Given the specific characteristics of the mental health field, rigorous and professional digital medical platforms hold considerable social value and potential. Zhao Yang Doctor provides patients with one-stop mental health services; its system closely aligns with clinical diagnostic and treatment needs, while its digital capabilities continuously enhance and reinforce barriers to entry in terms of professionalism, service capacity, and operational efficiency across both online and offline diagnosis and treatment services. We believe that, leveraging its pioneering efforts and accumulated expertise in digital mental health, Zhao Yang Doctor will introduce more innovative products and models to China’s mental health industry, creating synergistic win-win outcomes with Qianji Capital’s portfolio companies, which are domestic leaders in medical products, healthcare services, and payer solutions."

Opu Family Office stated: "The high-intensity, fast-paced nature of modern life imposes varying degrees of psychological stress and challenges on individuals, with growing emphasis placed on mental stress relief and health management. As one of the most professional institutions in China in this field, Dr. Zhaoyang not only possesses a deep understanding of client needs but also delivers services in a highly efficient and compassionate manner—a quality that is both rare and valuable. We wish Dr. Zhaoyang continued progress toward a bright future, and we remain committed to contributing to the company’s growth and to public welfare initiatives within the industry."

Matrix Partners China, established in 2008, is a leading venture capital firm in China. Over the past decade since its inception, it has remained deeply rooted in the local market, steadfastly investing in Chinese entrepreneurs. Matrix Partners China has currently invested in more than 700 companies. Notable portfolio companies include Didi Chuxing, XPeng Motors, Li Auto, Futu Securities, Chehaoduo Group, Youzan, Ronbay Lithium, XGIMI Technology, Momo, Ele.me, Peijia Medical, Kemai Diagnostics, Genor Biopharma, Career International, LexinFintech, So-Young, Yuanfudao, PingCAP, Zihai Guo, Simple Love, iSpace, Taimei Medical Technology, and Drug Research Club, among others.

Qianji Capital was established in 2010 and is one of the earliest professional investment funds in China focused on healthcare and life sciences, dedicated to promoting the transformation, upgrading, and innovation of China’s medical industry. Qianji Capital currently manages six healthcare industry funds, with capital commitments from renowned international and domestic institutional investors, including Asian sovereign wealth funds, government agencies, domestic and foreign insurance and financial institutions, and multinational corporations.

Oupu Family Office is among the first family offices in China to focus on equity investments. Its core business spans private equity, real estate, and equity investments, among other areas. We are committed to building a professional asset management institution with a diversified portfolio, fostering a thriving ecosystem in collaboration with leading investment firms and portfolio companies, thereby safeguarding the enduring legacy of family enterprises. In recent years, we have made strategic in-depth investments in sectors such as technology, healthcare, and consumer goods.