Aurora Health Tech Secures Tens of Millions RMB in Seed Funding to Advance Global Clinical Trial SaaS Platform

VCBeat (WeChat ID: Vcbeat) has learned that Aurora (Yaocheng Health Technology), a SaaS platform providing services to life sciences R&D enterprises, announced on January 20, 2021, the completion of its seed funding round amounting to tens of millions of RMB. The round was jointly invested by Lightspeed China Partners and Hankang Bio-Venture Fund. The funding will further drive the implementation, promotion, and international deployment of its next-generation, full-platform clinical research solutions.

Aurora was founded in August 2020. The founding team chose to enter the market through clinical research management, designing Aurora NEXUS, a future-oriented, flexibly configurable, and interconnected clinical research management platform.

Chen Xiao, Founder and Chairman of Aurora, stated, “We recognize the urgent need to elevate software capabilities within the pharmaceutical industry. Particularly in China, international clinical system products exhibit certain shortcomings in localization, whether in terms of platform responsiveness or support for data regulatory compliance. Moreover, there remains a significant gap in domestically developed software capable of supporting mid-to-high-end pharmaceutical development or global multi-center clinical trials. Meanwhile, substantial global investments in original drug and medical device R&D are fueling rapid development and intense competition. In light of this market landscape and the opportunities it presents, we aim to seamlessly integrate our team’s technical expertise in software, cloud computing, internet technologies, big data, AI, and mobile applications with our experience in the life sciences sector. By delivering high-quality R&D SaaS solutions, we seek to meet the surging demand in China’s mid-to-high-end healthcare market.”

According to Chen Xiao, Aurora NEXUS is a truly multinational cloud platform. The team has conducted comprehensive design and consideration on how to achieve global compliance, local deployment, and cross-border interoperability with distributed data storage, thereby building a complete solution that aligns with global standards and adheres to localized data regulatory requirements.

Specifically, multi-cloud joint deployment enables geographically distributed experimental data from multiple centers to be stored in local clouds in accordance with laws and regulations. Regardless of user location, required data can be accessed from the nearest deployment node and presented through a unified interface. Meanwhile, the system deeply understands and implements regulatory policies across different regions and countries, facilitating rapid global information synchronization to the greatest extent possible while ensuring compliance.

According to the company, Aurora NEXUS will be officially deployed by several renowned pharmaceutical companies at clinical centers including Beijing Cancer Hospital, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, and Shanghai Ruijin Hospital after the Spring Festival.

Mi Qun, Founding Partner of Lightspeed China Partners, stated, “Information technology is driving innovation and transformation in the life sciences R&D process, ushering in an era of digital innovation. To address the complex needs across the entire clinical research lifecycle, the Aurora team has designed an efficient, flexible, and interconnected clinical research management platform, leveraging its deep understanding of the life sciences industry. This platform plays a positive role in enhancing R&D efficiency and promoting industrial upgrading. With a global team capable of supporting cross-border clinical studies, we are confident in Aurora’s outstanding R&D capabilities and execution strength. We hope Aurora will accelerate its development and contribute to advancing global innovation in life sciences.”

Currently, Aurora’s founding team comprises members from Alphabet’s Google and Verily—including the founding management team of Verily China—Medidata, a global leader in clinical trial software, as well as experts and executives from pharmaceutical companies, CROs, and internationally renowned internet firms.

According to Chen Xiao, Aurora’s future strategic layout will expand from the clinical R&D phase to encompass full-lifecycle services, including preclinical stages and post-market activities. This initiative aims to support the entire workflow of the life sciences industry—covering R&D, clinical trials, and regulatory approvals—thereby shortening the time-to-market for new drugs and medical devices. Meanwhile, the company is actively building an AI team to explore AI applications and solutions within industry-specific user scenarios.