Youxi Medical Files for IPO: A Leading Fertility-Focused Healthcare Provider with Over One Million Online Users in Two Years
Conceiving a new life is inherently a miraculous and wonderful experience, yet for some families, it is accompanied by numerous concerns during the preconception and prenatal periods.
According to the "Report on the Current Status of Infertility in China," jointly released by the China Population Association and the National Family Planning Commission, China's infertility rate has risen from 2.5%–3% more than two decades ago to approximately 12.5%–15%, with the number of affected individuals exceeding 40 million. This means that one in every eight couples faces infertility issues. Furthermore, due to factors such as environmental pollution, delayed childbearing age, and increased life stress, the number of infertile couples continues to grow.
Against this backdrop, demand for medical services before and during pregnancy has surged, yet in reality, patients struggle to achieve satisfactory treatment outcomes and healthcare experiences. This is attributable to two main factors. First, on the supply side of medical technology and institutions, expert resources are heavily concentrated in a few specialized departments of public hospitals in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, resulting in significant scarcity. Most primary-level public hospitals have not established specialized clinics for specific conditions, leaving patients unable to find appropriate healthcare facilities. Second, on the patient side, infertility-related disorders impose substantial psychological pressure on families, particularly women. Constrained by limited resources, patients often incur high costs when traveling to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, or overseas for treatment, thereby imposing a severe financial burden on their households.
VCBeat recently contacted Youxi Chain Reproductive Medical Institutions (hereinafter referred to as “Youxi Medical”), a chain of gynecological and reproductive healthcare providers specializing in fertility issues such as infertility and recurrent miscarriage. By integrating offline medical facilities with an online service platform, Youxi Medical is committed to delivering comprehensive fertility solutions to the general public. Since its establishment in 2018, Youxi Medical has amassed over one million online users, and its first offline facility, the Changsha Youxi Clinic, has been successfully launched.
The infertile population of over 40 million people signifies substantial market potential, attracting an increasing number of players in China to enter this field.
According to data from the former National Health and Family Planning Commission, as of 2017, China had a total of 451 assisted reproductive technology (ART) centers, 23 human sperm banks, and 327 hospitals licensed to perform in vitro fertilization (IVF). Among these, 41 ART centers were operated by private hospitals. On the corporate side, key players include Yunlijia, which focuses on precision medicine for fertility assistance; Meimeng Life, which provides cross-border IVF services; Weiyi Beilian, which has piloted internet-based reproductive health services; Haoyunbang, which operates a chain of specialized reproductive clinics; 51 Haoyun, which offers insurance products for assisted reproduction; Daka Zhuyun, which has established a physician group specializing in assisted reproduction; and Fengkuang Zaoren, which centers on pre-conception community engagement.
Although market trends appear promising based on the data, the rising prevalence of infertility among Chinese families is driving increasingly high and diverse demands for service solutions.
Technically, current IVF treatment cycles are lengthy and lack high-quality services. Furthermore, the wide variety and high incidence of surgical complications associated with IVF require further improvement. Due to significant individual variability, embryo transfer success rates are relatively low, and live birth rates are even lower. There is a need to develop insurance-specific products to mitigate patients’ medical risks. These issues remain to be gradually addressed by the market.
No treatment can resolve all issues with pills and scalpels alone; meticulous communication about the patient’s condition, comprehensive and detailed treatment planning, compassionate humanistic care, and a high level of trust between physicians and patients are all essential prerequisites for achieving satisfactory therapeutic outcomes.
Consequently, in recent years, institutions that have focused on delivering a comfortable medical experience—by offering premium comfort-oriented treatments, international genetic testing, scientifically guided mind-body wellness programs, exclusive reproductive health management, VIP-accompanied global consultation services, and customized reproductive insurance—have achieved significant growth.
“It is quite difficult for people trying to conceive to find hospitals and doctors that meet their expectations in all aspects. This issue has persisted for many years with little change. Due to our optimism about this market and our desire to make a meaningful contribution to families preparing for pregnancy, my partners and I decided to enter this industry,” Zhang Nan, founder of Youxi Medical, told VCBeat.
In the field of fertility care, patients’ ideal healthcare institutions should meet three criteria. First, they must achieve the patients’ treatment goals for childbearing, namely successful conception and live birth. Second, patients should have a positive healthcare experience, characterized by sufficient time for communication with physicians, allowing them to recognize the physicians’ professionalism and courteous attitude, thereby fostering adequate trust. Third, the costs should align with the patients’ household financial circumstances.
How to Address the Above Issues? Youxi Medical’s approach is to concentrate medical resources by focusing on a single disease category—infertility and subfertility—thereby efficiently achieving patients’ treatment goals.
“Building on this foundation, we also employ a multidisciplinary matrix of medical experts. Infertility is a complex medical issue, with dozens or even hundreds of potential etiologies contributing to the condition. A coordinated, multidisciplinary approach enables more precise and efficient resolution of patients’ problems. For instance, many individuals trying to conceive suffer from mental and psychological issues such as insomnia, anxiety, and depression, which significantly impact pregnancy success rates. This necessitates consultations with specialists in neurology and psychology,” stated Zhang Nan. He added that Youxi Medical’s expert team currently encompasses specialists from multiple disciplines, including Traditional Chinese Medicine, Western gynecology, obstetrics, reproductive medicine, rheumatology and immunology, endocrinology, nutrition, and neonatology.
In terms of the patient care experience, Youxi Medical has established a communication mechanism for patient services to build trust between doctors and patients. For instance, during the common process of taking medical history, healthcare providers engage in mutual exchange of views with patients. When facing risky decisions, they honestly inform patients of the challenges physicians encounter, enabling joint decision-making by both parties.
“We also require medical staff to allocate sufficient time for direct communication with patients. For instance, they conduct educational sessions one to two times per week via live-streaming platforms and deliver lectures in WeChat groups to popularize relevant knowledge, thereby helping patients better understand their health conditions,” stated Zhang Nan. The founding team of Youxi boasts over a decade of operational experience in the healthcare services industry. “In terms of pricing, Youxi Medical’s service rates balance cost-effectiveness with personalized consumer demands.”
Regarding future development, Zhang Nan stated that Youxi Medical will continue to enhance service quality, improve patients’ healthcare experience, and advance professional technical capabilities. In terms of capital, the company recently completed a tens-of-millions-level Pre-A financing round. The key focus for the next phase is the expansion and replication of its offline medical institutions.