Qianglian Zhichuang® Secures Tens of Millions of RMB in Series B Funding to Advance Commercialization of Its Comprehensive Stroke Diagnosis and Treatment Platform

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned at the earliest opportunity that Union Strong, a high-tech company specializing in intelligent diagnosis and treatment of cerebrovascular diseases^®Announced the completion of a B-round financing worth tens of millions of yuan,Led by Shanlan Capital, with participation from Qilun Ventures and Qingzhe Ventures, and Tanzi Capital serving as the financial advisor.. The funds raised are primarily used to advance the commercial promotion and implementation of the company's stroke diagnosis and treatment products.

Previously, Union Strong® completed its angel round of financing in 2017, invested by Anlong Fund, and its Series A financing in 2019, invested by Legend Star and Tuojin Capital.

Union Strong^®Founded in September 2016, Union Strong (Beijing) Tech. Co. Ltd is a high-tech company that leverages AI and big data for the precision diagnosis and treatment of cerebrovascular diseases. The company focuses on the vertical sector of intelligent diagnosis and treatment of cerebrovascular diseases in China, with its products providing intelligent assistance across the entire clinical workflow for multiple conditions, including hemorrhagic and ischemic stroke. Currently, the company’s U-Pixel Intelligent Stroke Diagnosis and Treatment Platform has been deployed and put into clinical use at leading neurology centers in China, such as Xuanwu Hospital, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Changhai Hospital, and Huashan Hospital.

Regarding the most significant change from Series A to Series B financing, Union Strong^®Founder Qin Lan responded, “From Series A to Series B, we have progressed from single-product, single-clinical validation to a comprehensive, end-to-end assistance stage for stroke care. Our full product suite has been developed, covering screening and diagnosis, treatment decision-making, surgical simulation and planning, intraoperative assistance, and subsequent disease follow-up.”

It is reported that as early as the second half of 2019, Union Strong^®The company has already obtained the product registration certificate, completed its initial commercial pilot implementation, and covered hundreds of hospitals.

There are many ways to integrate medical AI, ranging from empowering imaging screening to enabling new drug discovery. Union Strong^®Its strategy differs from that of most medical AI companies, as it focuses more on vertical domains in AI-enabled clinical treatment—specifically, supporting clinicians in making treatment decisions and surgical planning around the disease treatment endpoint, with its positioning centered on the adjunctive phase of disease treatment.

Unlike most high-tech companies that develop AI imaging products centered around radiologists, Union Strong^®The developed comprehensive diagnosis and treatment platform for stroke is targeted at clinical physicians. This differentiated positioning has also become Union Strong^®One of the key essentials for securing investment.

“As AI enters the 2.0 era, processing medical imaging screening is merely the most basic ‘shallow-water’ task for deep learning. Once we venture into the ‘deep waters,’ we will realize that diagnosis is only the first step in disease treatment; the core challenge remains how to effectively treat the disease,” said Qin Lan. “At this stage, we recognize that disease management cannot be confined to the radiology department. Instead, it requires deep integration with various clinical specialties and a comprehensive understanding of the patient’s overall condition to assist physicians in making precise diagnostic and therapeutic decisions.”

Union Strong^®After several years of independent research and development, integrating deep learning algorithms, we have developed an AI-powered diagnostic and treatment platform for stroke. By simply inputting patient data—including imaging and other test results—into the platform, it can accurately and structurally output disease-related parameters and risk assessment results. This provides physicians with intelligent assistance across the entire clinical workflow, encompassing disease screening, automated diagnosis, treatment decision-making, surgical planning, selection and simulation of medical consumables, and patient follow-up.

Union Strong^®Intelligent Assisted Diagnosis and Treatment of Hemorrhagic Stroke

Union Strong^®Intelligent Assisted Diagnosis and Treatment of Ischemic Stroke

Furthermore, Union Strong^®The comprehensive stroke diagnosis and treatment platform can also achieve bidirectional data interconnectivity with medical imaging equipment, automatically acquiring medical imaging detection data. In mid-year this year, Union Strong^®Formally entered into a strategic partnership with GE Healthcare, jointly launching the IGS6 AI-powered intelligent angiography system for neurointervention. In addition to intelligent devices, Union Strong^®...intelligent algorithms can also comprehensively empower interventional consumables. “In essence, we are building an intelligent diagnosis and treatment platform for a vertical sector, providing intelligent diagnostic and therapeutic algorithms, intelligent devices, and intelligent consumables.” Union Strong^®Founder and Chairman Qin Lan concluded.

For AI in vertical sectors, collaborations with top KOLs, R&D capabilities, regulatory approval capabilities, and commercialization capabilities will become the all-around benchmarks for evaluating a company’s comprehensive strength. And Union Strong^®It also pioneers a novel business model aligned with medical service delivery, charging intelligent diagnostic and therapeutic service fees per patient case, thereby replacing the traditional software sales model.

As the lead investor in this round,Nie Hongxin, Managing Partner at Shanlan CapitalIt stated: “As a country with a high incidence of cerebrovascular disease, China has a massive population of patients suffering from ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke. However, due to gaps in surgical penetration and emergency care processes compared to Europe and the United States, the rate of surgical intervention remains low. Shanlan Capital believes that AI and big data hold immense potential for the precise diagnosis and treatment of cerebrovascular diseases, and the application of AI technology in this field will benefit a greater number of patients in China. We are delighted to have identified and invested in Union Strong, an outstanding and diverse top-tier team. As China’s largest AI-driven diagnosis and treatment platform for stroke, Union Strong will continue to deepen its expertise and expand its frontiers in the intelligent diagnosis and treatment of cerebrovascular diseases. Shanlan’s extensive industry resources will also continuously support Union Strong’s rapid development.”

Liu Jian, Founder of Qilun Venture Capitalstated: “Chiron Capital’s investment in Union Strong is based on its deep understanding of the healthcare industry, its optimistic outlook on the development trends of the sector in which the company operates, and its strong recognition of the innovation capabilities and pioneering strength of the company and its team in this field.”

Feng Lihui, Head of ECM at Probe CapitalIt indicates that stroke has become the leading cause of death among Chinese people. Union Strong’s intelligent diagnosis and treatment platform for cerebrovascular diseases boasts robust R&D capabilities, providing physicians with comprehensive AI-assisted support throughout the entire process from diagnosis to treatment. We believe that Union Strong, founded by industry veterans, will emerge as a new force in the industry.

Shanlan Capital is a specialized fund focused on investing in the early and growth stages of the healthcare industry. It targets high-growth segments such as biopharmaceuticals, medical devices (including in vitro diagnostics and gene technologies, minimally invasive interventional devices, implantable devices, minimally invasive surgical instruments, and medical robots), and healthcare services. The firm has invested in more than 20 leading healthcare companies. Shanlan Capital’s core team comprises founders of publicly listed healthcare companies, as well as professionals in financial and strategic investment. The team provides value-added services to portfolio companies across various dimensions, assisting them in integrating advanced international technologies and establishing global operational philosophies and standards, thereby fostering continuous innovation and development.

Chiron Ventures was founded in August 2008, focusing on innovation and investment in healthcare. The founder of Chiron Ventures previously established medical companies and has long been dedicated to promoting novel medical technologies both domestically and internationally. Through unremitting efforts to advance medical technology in China, the founder has gained industry recognition and laid a solid foundation for the firm’s development. The founding team of Chiron Ventures has invested in more than 30 healthcare startups, accumulating extensive experience and resources in medical technology development, healthcare innovation and entrepreneurship, and market expansion. This expertise enables the firm to provide substantial support and professional value-added services to its portfolio companies.

Probe Capital, established in late 2017, is a boutique investment bank focused on the global healthcare and life sciences industries. It completes double-digit private equity financing and M&A transactions annually, continuously supporting scientists and entrepreneurs in these fields as they grow. Leveraging extensive industry experience and diverse professional expertise, the team provides clients with efficient, comprehensive, full-cycle investment banking and advisory services. As of October 2020, Probe Capital had facilitated transactions totaling several billion RMB.