Keya Medical Secures RMB 150 Million Series B+ Financing Led by GGV Capital

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that Keya Medical, the first company in China to obtain a Class III medical device registration certificate for AI-based medical products, recently announced the completion of its RMB 150 million Series B+ strategic financing round. The round was led by GGV Capital, with participation from Kunlun Internet Intelligence Fund, Guofang Fund of Funds, and Yahui Capital.

This round of financing will be primarily used to complete Keya Medical’s global commercial deployment of its products, and to provide significant momentum for subsequent brand upgrading, product R&D, and market expansion.

In fact, as early as February this year, Keya Medical had already secured a hundred-million-yuan investment led by Kunlun Tech and IDG Capital, with co-investment from Shanghai Guofang Fund of Funds, Yahui Capital, and others. This round of financing came less than six months ago. Such a rapid fundraising pace stands in stark contrast to the current macroeconomic backdrop of “slowing global economic growth amid the pandemic.” Once again, Keya Medical has demonstrated its superiority in technology, product development, and commercial value through outstanding performance.

In just six months, Keya Medical secured two major rounds of financing, with both rounds featuring star-studded investor lineups—a feat attributed to Zhou Yahui, Co-founder and Chairman of Keya Medical.

Zhou Yahui, known in the investment community as the “Unicorn Excavator,” leveraged four core strengths—long-term vision, unique insights, strong execution, and perseverance—to spearhead Keya Medical’s journey. He oversaw the company’s formal establishment in January 2016, secured China’s first Class III medical device approval for an AI-based product in January 2020, and completed two rounds of financing in the first half of 2020. Under his leadership, Keya Medical successfully implemented its innovative business model of “driving technological advancement through practical applications and reshaping application scenarios with cutting-edge technology,” fully demonstrating the company’s growth potential and sustainability. This has been a key reason why Keya Medical continues to gain recognition from investors.

Recently, Zhou Yahui has once again made bold proclamations, reminiscent of his 2019 declaration that Keya Medical would “surely obtain the first Class III medical device certificate for AI.” He asserted, “Keya Medical is poised to become the highest-valued pre-IPO unicorn in the AI healthcare sector and is expected to be the first to list on the capital markets!” This confidence undoubtedly stems from Keya Medical’s successful performance across several funding rounds, reflecting Zhou Yahui’s strong belief in the powerful synergy between top-tier global venture capital firms and leading enterprises in artificial intelligence-driven healthcare.

Fu Jixun, Managing Partner at GGV Capital, stated, “We have long been bullish on the structural innovation opportunities arising from China’s healthcare reform and upgrading, as well as the immense application value of AI and technology in the medical field. We believe that the AI-assisted diagnosis and treatment technologies represented by Keya Medical can create a win-win outcome for all stakeholders—including patients, hospitals, social security systems, and commercial insurers—thereby generating substantial social and commercial value. Furthermore, as the only Chinese AI healthcare company to have received recognition from China’s NMPA, the U.S. FDA, and the EU CE simultaneously, Keya Medical boasts globally leading technology and teams. With capital support, Keya Medical is poised to become a global leader in the AI healthcare industry.”

“By replacing invasive surgical diagnostics with non-invasive techniques and leveraging deep learning algorithms to achieve diagnostic accuracy comparable to the clinical gold standard, Keya Medical has delivered significant value to hundreds of millions of cardiovascular patients in China and worldwide. This is merely the first step for Keya Medical as a pioneer in the ‘AI + Healthcare’ sector in China. As the first company in China to obtain a Class III medical device certification for AI-assisted diagnosis and treatment, every stride Keya Medical takes places it at the forefront of uncharted territory in the upgrading of China’s healthcare industry and technological innovation. In this long-distance race, we have full confidence in the team led by Mr. Zhou Yahui and Dr. Song Qi. We believe that Keya Medical will continue to achieve breakthroughs in the ‘AI + Digital Health’ arena, emerging as a globally leading next-generation medical technology company,” added Wu Chenyao, Executive Director at GGV Capital (Granite Global Ventures).

Keya Medical’s accelerating pace of financing clearly reveals its underlying commercial ambitions. As a globally leading technology-driven AI healthcare service provider, Keya Medical has adhered since its establishment in January 2016 to the corporate philosophy of “grounding itself in real clinical needs and enhancing smart healthcare applications.” It is committed to empowering clinical scenarios with AI technology, delivering precise medical services to patients, healthcare institutions, and life science research organizations.

Keya Medical currently employs over 100 R&D personnel, including more than 20 PhD holders with overseas education backgrounds. Many of these experts have served in core R&D roles at the North American research centers of globally renowned medical imaging companies. They possess extensive experience in AI technology, image analysis, and healthcare big data; have published over 100 papers in top-tier international academic journals; have filed more than 100 domestic and international invention patents; and have led or participated in multiple national key R&D projects. The company holds core technologies in machine learning, medical image analysis, and natural language processing. This robust technological R&D capability is the fundamental reason why Keya Medical has emerged as a leading enterprise in China’s AI-driven healthcare sector.

As a company specializing in cardiovascular AI, Keya Medical currently focuses on its product line for precise diagnosis of coronary artery disease and intelligent imaging solutions, with an emphasis on PaaS-layer applications. Its independently developed software for calculating fractional flow reserve (FFR) in coronary arteries, branded as “DeepVessel FFR,” has been approved by the Center for Medical Device Evaluation, becoming China’s first Class III artificial intelligence medical device to receive regulatory approval. It is also currently the only product in China holding dual certifications from China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) and the European CE mark. By helping physicians obtain reliable clinical application data, identify pathways for efficiency gains, and optimize diagnostic and treatment plans, this product enables patients to avoid overtreatment, thereby reducing their financial burden and overall societal healthcare costs.

In terms of commercial deployment, Keya Medical primarily serves three major sectors: public hospitals, private hospitals, and the third-party market. To date, it has established collaborations with over 200 public hospitals and co-established nearly 100 AI diagnostic centers. Meanwhile, Keya Medical has also entered into strategic partnerships with multiple private hospitals and independent imaging centers.

Currently, Keya Medical has completed the comprehensive development of AI-based clinical application products. In the future, it will accelerate the deployment and application of its AI medical products and technologies, thereby achieving full-process coverage for single diseases and realizing the goal of comprehensively optimizing medical services and treatment.