DeepZhi Technology Completes Series B Financing of Over RMB 100 Million to Advance AI-Powered Ultrasound Specialization

Shenzhen-based AI firm Shenzhi Technology Announces Completion of RMB 100 Million Series B Financing Round, Led by GGV Capital

Founded in 2018, Shenzhi Technology specializes in ultrasound AI research. Despite its youth, it is one of the few ultrasound artificial intelligence companies worldwide to possess proprietary underlying algorithms. Within two years, its AI-assisted ultrasound diagnostic capabilities have expanded to cover more than twenty conditions, including thyroid, breast, and liver diseases. The company has secured over 50 domestic and international patents in areas such as ultrasound hardware, artificial intelligence systems, chips, and cloud computing, establishing itself as one of the few domestic ultrasound AI startups capable of dynamic medical image analysis.

In 2020, Shenzhi Technology completed three rounds of financing, with Zheshang Venture Capital, Shunyi Capital, and Meinian Onehealth Healthcare investing in the company. At the beginning of the new year, GGV Capital’s additional investment marked a significant milestone in Shenzhi Technology’s development. According to Zhu Ruixing, CEO of Shenzhi Technology, the funds raised in this round will be used to accelerate the further development and commercialization of its ultrasound products.

According to statistics from the China Association of Medical Equipment, as of 2018, the installed base of ultrasound systems in China was approximately 190,000 units. A comparison with data for other medical devices during the same period illustrates this scale. At the same point in time, the installed base of digital radiography (DR) systems was approximately 55,000 units; computed tomography (CT) scanners numbered around 22,000 units; endoscopes totaled approximately 20,000 units; and the installed base of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems stood at 9,255 units.

High installed base corresponds to high demand. In 2020, the number of ultrasound examinations in China reached approximately 2 billion. Meinian Onehealth, a single private health checkup provider, conducted as many as 20 million ultrasound examinations annually. Therefore, improving physicians’ efficiency and accuracy in ultrasound image acquisition represents a significant opportunity and challenge in this field.

Even more pressing is the scarcity of medical talent. While there are 50 million doctors worldwide, only 2% possess the skills to perform ultrasound scanning. Unlike radiological image analysis, ultrasound diagnosis requires the acquisition of dynamic images from multiple planes for real-time assessment. Both image acquisition and interpretation are highly dependent on physician experience, a barrier that limits the adoption of ultrasound in primary care settings.

Although various forms of ultrasound technology have reached a high level of technical maturity, many primary healthcare institutions still lack physicians with sufficient diagnostic expertise. In other words, only by lowering the barrier to entry for ultrasound use can it become a truly accessible and portable diagnostic tool.

The Emergence of Artificial Intelligence Offers a Prescription for Addressing the Challenge of Universal Access to Ultrasound Services. On one hand, AI can enhance the intelligence of large-scale ultrasound equipment, transforming it into smart terminals that integrate data acquisition, management, and analysis with deep learning capabilities. On the other hand, AI lowers the barrier to entry for ultrasound usage, enabling more non-specialist physicians to acquire ultrasound skills. Strengthening diagnostic capabilities—the critical link in resolving structural contradictions within the healthcare system—ultimately empowers primary care institutions.

Zhu Ruixing, CEO of Shenzhi Technology, stated in an interview with VCBeat that AI can provide intra-procedural and post-procedural quality control for clinicians specializing in specific fields. “During each ultrasound scan, physicians need to obtain several results that meet quality control standards. However, since factors such as pressure and angle affect image acquisition, not every result is accurate or valid. To prevent the acquisition of invalid imaging planes, Shenzhi Technology’s AI performs real-time assessment of the generated images, with the entire analysis process maintaining a latency of 10–50 ms. This approach is not limited to the ultrasound department; it can also be applied to clinical puncture procedures in minimally invasive urologic surgery and endocrinology, providing guidance and evaluation for surgical interventions.”

Under AI-assisted decision-making, the most intuitive outcome is the reallocation of physicians’ limited time. Previously, they often devoted 70% of their energy to detailed tasks, leaving only 30% for decision-making responsibilities. With the integration of AI, physicians can dedicate more time to higher-value decision-making work.

Primary healthcare is a larger market, with over 900,000 medical institutions. For such a market, Shenzhi Technology aims to accomplish two things.

“The first step is to reduce the cost of ultrasound usage. We enhance the performance of ultrasound hardware through software solutions, which means that primary healthcare institutions have more options when procuring ultrasound equipment. Meanwhile, we will collaborate with medical institutions to provide systematic ultrasound training for physicians, helping more doctors use ultrasound devices effectively,” said Zhu Ruixing. “In the past, it took 3–5 years to train a qualified ultrasound physician. Now, with AI, we will build upon our primary-care training system to better meet the needs of healthcare professionals, making the ultrasound training process smoother and more aligned with real-world scenarios at the grassroots level.”

“The second step is to lower the threshold for physicians to use ultrasound through AI, assisting them in ultrasound diagnosis, which is also one of the core capabilities of AI at this stage. This step tests Shenzhi’s hard-core strength and naturally constitutes its competitive barrier. In fact, in addition to being powered by massive datasets, Shenzhi has developed its own proprietary underlying ultrasound AI algorithms, capable of delivering sensitivity and specificity approaching ‘1’.”

In February 2020, the U.S. FDA granted its first approval to an AI-assisted ultrasound imaging system developed by Capture Health, ushering in new opportunities for ultrasound imaging. In China, a total of nine AI-based medical imaging products received Class III medical device certifications throughout 2020. Although this segment differs somewhat from ultrasound imaging, it underscores the Center for Medical Device Evaluation’s determination to promote the development of the medical artificial intelligence industry.

Today, Shenzhi Technology’s products have served more than 600 hospitals, spanning from tertiary Grade A hospitals to primary care institutions, and have established mature product and commercial networks. Shenzhi’s next goal is to accelerate the approval of its Class III medical device registration certificates and facilitate the transition from implementation to commercialization.

Wu Chenyao, Executive Director at GGV Capital, stated that “AI + Healthcare” is a key focus area for the firm. He highlighted the miniaturization of medical devices combined with AI-enabled primary care as a direction with immense potential, identifying Shenzhi Technology as a leader in this sector. After extensive R&D and accumulation of expertise, Shenzhi’s AI technology has significantly lowered the barrier to using ultrasound technology, thereby benefiting more patients and physicians. Meanwhile, the primary care market in China and other developing countries worldwide will generate substantial demand amid healthcare transformations. AI-powered handheld ultrasound is merely Shenzhi Technology’s first product to enter this market. We believe that under the leadership of Chairman Zhang Zhuo and CEO Zhu Ruixing, Shenzhi Technology will evolve into a platform enterprise empowering primary care through technology, continuously launching products that are both technologically advanced and practically implementable for the primary care market, thereby creating long-term social value.

Dr. Yu Bo, Head of Healthcare Investments at Purple Cow Fund, stated, “As the earliest investor in Shenzhi Technology, we are delighted that the company has successfully completed its latest round of financing. We also extend our sincere appreciation to GGV Capital for their strong support as a new investor. We are pleased to witness the product development and commercial progress achieved by the company within just two years of its establishment. We look forward to seeing the company break through the limitations of single-modality imaging products in the future. Leveraging its powerful mobile imaging intelligent computing platform and using hardware tools as carriers, the company aims to provide integrated, specialty- and disease-specific imaging solutions tailored for primary healthcare settings and clinical specialty scenarios. We hope that, with the support of both existing and new shareholders, the company will rapidly grow into a leader in its sector.”

Yu Rong, Chairman of Meinian Onehealth Healthcare, stated, “Ultrasound itself offers incomparable advantages in disease diagnosis due to its characteristics of being radiation-free and allowing for repeat examinations. However, the interpretation of ultrasound images is dynamic, requiring skilled physicians to perform real-time operations, which sets a high barrier to entry. Shenzhi Technology specializes in the field of ultrasound AI. Both parties are currently collaborating to explore the relevant processes and standards for implementing AI-based quality control in ultrasound examinations at Meinian Onehealth, aiming to prevent missed diagnoses caused by physician fatigue and improve the detection rate of positive cases. We congratulate Shenzhi Technology on the successful completion of this round of financing, and we hope that their R&D efforts proceed smoothly, leading to timely regulatory approval and market launch, thereby enabling practical clinical application.”

You Xiangdong, Executive President of Zheshang Venture Capital, stated, “The widespread application of ultrasound and its trend toward clinical integration, coupled with the shortage of sonographers and the challenges in implementing quality control, have long been bottlenecks for the industry’s development. Shenzhi Technology applies AI to ultrasound diagnosis and treatment, reducing the cost of ultrasound usage and lowering the learning curve for physicians mastering ultrasound techniques. It enables dynamic medical analysis, achieving quality control in real-time image acquisition and measurement data. This significantly enhances the efficiency and quality of work for professional sonographers, while also making it easier for clinical specialists and primary care physicians to apply ultrasound in clinical screening and assessment. Congratulations to Shenzhi on completing its new round of financing, which will further accelerate the deepening of its ultrasound product portfolio and regulatory approval processes, as well as expedite the layout of physician training and the construction of an internet-based ultrasound platform, thereby benefiting more physicians and patients.”