Chigene Completes Over RMB 100 Million Series B Financing Led by Benco Ventures

VCBeat has learned at the earliest opportunity that a Chinese precision diagnostics company specializing in genetic big data technology—Beijing Joy Orient Announces Completion of Over RMB 100 Million in Series B Financing,This round of financing was led by Bencao Capital, with participation from multiple investment institutions including Yijing Capital and Feitu Venture Capital. The funding will further support Joy Orient’s rapid advancement in the field of precision diagnosis for genetic diseases based on big data. It is reported that Joy Orient previously completed a Series A+ financing round worth hundreds of millions of yuan, led by well-known institutions such as Fortune Capital, Fosun, and Yahui Investment.

As sequencing costs decline, the bottleneck in the development of precision diagnostics is no longer gene sequencing itself, but rather the clinical-grade analysis of post-sequencing genetic data—namely, the precise identification of pathogenic mutations underlying a patient’s condition from massive volumes of mutational data. The ultimate solution to overcoming this global challenge of genomic data interpretation lies in constructing large-scale genotype–phenotype databases.

Joy Orient has been deeply engaged in precision diagnostic technologies for over a decade. It pioneered the application of medical exome sequencing, whole-exome sequencing (WES), whole-genome sequencing (WGS), as well as AI and big data interpretation techniques to the diagnosis of genetic disorders. Furthermore, it took the lead in constructing a gene-phenotype database comprising WES/WGS data from 100,000 individuals, thereby establishing a comprehensive diagnostic technology system based on genomic big data.

Leveraging its robust technological foundation and extensive big data accumulation, Joy Orient has established distinct advantages in the field of genetic disease testing, characterized by “comprehensiveness, accuracy, speed, and value.” By integrating tumor neoantigen target sequencing, immune repertoire sequencing, and single-cell sequencing, Joy Orient has ushered in a new era of panoramic sequencing big data for tumor NGS-based precision medicine.

By integrating cutting-edge technologies—including a cost-effective gene data acquisition system, an AI-powered cloud platform for fully automated precision diagnostics, and an automated big-data mining platform for scientific research—with a comprehensive suite of precision diagnostic products and services spanning multiple disciplines and fields, Joy Orient has created an integrated platform that provides hospitals with holistic solutions for the acquisition, analysis, and mining of omics big data.

It is reported that Joy Orient won the First Prize in the Beijing Division of the 2019 China Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition (with 99 outstanding enterprises from across China participating) and the Third Prize in the 2020 “Direct to Wuzhen” Global Internet Entrepreneurship Competition, among other awards. It was also successfully selected for VCBeat’s 2020 lists of “Top 80 Innovative Enterprises in China’s Healthcare and Wellness Sector” and “Top 20 in the Medical Technology Segment.”

Bencao Capital is a renowned investment institution focused on the healthcare and medical industry, investing in multiple sectors including new drug development, medical devices, clinical diagnostics, and healthcare services. The core investment team at Bencao possesses professional backgrounds in the biopharmaceutical industry, with over ten years of successful experience in both investment and entrepreneurship within this field. To date, the team has invested in more than 50 healthcare companies. Bencao manages both RMB and USD funds, investing in innovative healthcare enterprises domestically and internationally. Recognizing the tremendous growth opportunities in the healthcare sector over the next ten to twenty years, Bencao is committed to helping cultivate a cohort of outstanding, internationally competitive healthcare companies, generating returns for its investors, and establishing Bencao Capital as a successful medical investment brand that expands from China to the global stage.

Yijing Capital was established in 2015, engaging in primary market equity investments and fund-of-funds investments using its own capital and private equity funds. Adhering to the philosophy of "helping enterprises innovate and grow, promoting industrial optimization and upgrading, and driving social development and progress," Yijing Capital focuses on sectors such as healthcare, TMT & mass consumption, and hard-core technologies. It specializes in investing in early-stage and growth-stage companies with high value creation potential and technological innovation. In the healthcare sector, it has invested in numerous leading companies in niche industries, including Dayi Group, Hanyu Medical, Zhidao Biology, Shuchuang Surgical Robotics, Weienuo Pediatrics, and MedSci.