Olive Health Secures Nearly $10 Million Series A Funding to Advance Vaccine Digitization

Recently, Olive Branch Health, a digital services provider for the vaccine industry, secured nearly $10 million in Series A financing. The round was led by IDG Capital, with Jiacheng Capital participating as a co-investor. The funds raised will be primarily allocated to product research and development, market expansion, and accelerating digital transformation within the vaccine sector. Reportedly, this marks the first instance of venture capital investment in the internet-based vaccine domain.

Olive Branch Health, established in 2017, is one of the earliest enterprises in China to explore digital services in the vaccine industry. In 2018, the company partnered with AliHealth to jointly launch an online Hong Kong Medical Pavilion, offering vaccine appointment booking services. Subsequently, its business scope expanded to cover Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan of China, as well as Southeast Asia and South Korea, collaborating with over 1,000 high-quality medical institutions worldwide. In 2019, non-EPI (Expanded Program on Immunization) vaccines experienced rapid growth in the domestic market. Olive Branch Health vigorously expanded its digital operations within mainland China. By the end of 2020, the company had initially achieved nationwide coverage of vaccination sites, with its cooperative network spanning vaccination networks in more than 20 provinces and 50 cities across China. Its service offerings extended to include booking and appointment scheduling for all categories of non-EPI vaccines (Class II vaccines). Meanwhile, Olive Branch Health replicated its experience in digitizing the vaccine industry to third-party testing services, covering over 20 provinces and 60 cities nationwide.

The company’s core team comprises mid-to-senior executives from multinational vaccine manufacturers such as Pfizer, Merck & Co., Sanofi, and GSK, as well as serial entrepreneurs from the internet e-commerce sector, forming a team that integrates dual expertise in the vaccine industry and the internet.

Driven by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, China’s vaccine market is reaching an inflection point for industry growth, with the internet-based vaccine sector experiencing rapid expansion. In 2020, domestic demand for vaccination reached unprecedented levels. As of November 9, 2020, approximately 25 million doses of influenza vaccines had been administered nationwide. China’s vaccine production doubled compared to the previous year, marking the highest output in the past five years. In terms of market size, according to Frost & Sullivan, China’s vaccine market is projected to grow to RMB 97.36 billion by 2023, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26.5% from 2018 to 2023. Notably, non-EPI (Expanded Program on Immunization) vaccines accounted for over 90.7% of the market share. It is foreseeable that the proportion of non-EPI vaccines will continue to rise as more products are launched in the future.

Amid this trend, internet giants such as Ali Health, Tencent Health, Baidu Health, JD Health, and Pinduoduo have attached great importance to the sector and entered the market one after another. As one of the earliest companies to deploy digital solutions for vaccines on the internet, Olive Branch Health boasts extensive industry experience and holds a first-mover advantage in its collaborations with these major players. Starting from 2018, Olive Branch Health was ranked the No. 1 online vaccine service provider for three consecutive years, with peak monthly online service appointments exceeding 100,000. Olive Branch Health is a member of the China Vaccine Industry Association and also a member unit of the Ali Health Vaccine Digitalization Science Popularization Alliance. The company has currently partnered with multiple platforms to provide digital vaccine services, including Ali Health, JD Health, Tencent Health, Baidu Health, Meituan, ByteDance, and Pinduoduo, becoming an ecosystem partner for each of these internet health giants and jointly building the digital vaccine market.

Deng Guiwei, founder of Olive Branch Health, stated that the company’s original mission is to create value for the vaccine industry and its extensive user base. It is committed to integrating the market for non-program vaccines by optimizing demand and matching supply, thereby increasing vaccination rates. With this round of financing, Olive Branch Health’s “Internet + Vaccine” platform will further enhance the digital service capabilities of vaccination sites and vigorously address users’ multidimensional needs. By offering online health education, online consultations, and online appointment scheduling, the platform aims to resolve long-standing challenges in public vaccine administration. Through system digitization and the feedback of post-vaccination observation and outcome data, a closed-loop industry chain will be established, comprehensively boosting vaccination coverage.

Lian Meng, Partner at IDG Capital, stated, “Given the prospects of health consumption and an aging population, we are optimistic about the growth potential in the non-immunization program vaccine sector. As entry-level products for health services, vaccines present significant room for improvement in digital service upgrades as user demand grows. We are bullish on Olive Branch Health’s digital initiatives in the vaccine and health services sectors, noting that the industry offers opportunities for structural optimization.”

Li Li, Founding Partner of Jiacheng Capital, stated: “Jiacheng Capital is dedicated to investing in technology-driven business innovations. In the healthcare sector, which we focus on, there has been a surge of innovations in technology, channels, and services in recent years. By deeply cultivating digitalization within the vaccine industry, Olive Branch Health is committed to creating a closed loop that ranges from supply-side optimization to service digitalization. We look forward to Olive Branch Health serving both the industry and users effectively, and playing a positive role in enhancing the efficiency of the vaccine industry chain in the future.”

IDG Capital pioneered venture capital investment in China in 1993 and is a globally leading private equity investment firm. Over nearly three decades of development, the firm has expanded its operations across Europe, the United States, and the Asia-Pacific region. It currently maintains offices in 13 cities across five countries, including New York, Boston, London, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul, and Hanoi, with cumulative assets under management exceeding RMB 150 billion. IDG Capital focuses on leading enterprises in sectors such as Technology, Media, and Telecom (TMT), new consumption and services, culture and entertainment, healthcare, advanced manufacturing, and clean energy. Its investment scope covers all stages, from early-stage startups to growth-stage, mature companies, and mergers and acquisitions, with investment sizes ranging from millions to hundreds of millions of US dollars. To date, IDG Capital has invested in over 1,000 outstanding companies worldwide, more than 200 of which have successfully exited through Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) or Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) in capital markets in the United States, Europe, Hong Kong, and mainland China.

Next Capital is an early-stage investment fund focused on the technology sector, driven by the belief that technology fuels business innovation. As the first source of capital for innovators, Next Capital aims to identify highly promising future business leaders. It has invested in the angel or early stages of numerous well-known startups, including Panda Remit, Duozhuayu, Shihuituan, Ramen Talk, Shoplazza, Bosie, Panda Kitchen, and Walnut Coding. Since its establishment in 2017, Next Capital has built the largest service ecosystem for new-economy entrepreneurs in China. Its venture capital and startup service platform, “Next Capital Entrepreneurial Roundtable,” is dedicated to providing tech and internet entrepreneurs and industry professionals with in-depth resource integration and firsthand industry insights. To date, it has served tens of thousands of entrepreneurs, brought together hundreds of entrepreneurial communities, and featured nearly a thousand entrepreneurs and industry experts sharing their perspectives on the platform. Next Capital serves as both a growth partner and a thought partner for entrepreneurs.