HuJia Tech: Empowering Healthcare Professionals with Over 1.1 Million Users and 95% Exam Pass Rate
Since the inception of mobile health, the nursing sector has remained a key area where numerous companies compete to capitalize on opportunities.
The underlying reason is the substantial market opportunity generated by the continuous growth of nursing resources in China. According to data from the National Nursing Development Plan (2016–2020), the number of registered nurses per 1,000 population in China increased from 1.52 in 2010 to 2.36 in 2015, and the nurse-to-physician ratio improved from 1:0.85 to 1:1.07.
Consequently, companies have been continuously delving deeper into their respective niches within the nursing sector. For instance, in the realm of medical appointment accompaniment, there are enterprises such as e-Peizhen, Ai Peizhen, Anxin Peizhen, and Quhu Wang; in terms of nursing tools, there are Geer Zhihui and Huli Jia 360; in the door-to-door O2O segment, there are Ermao Zhaohu, Ruiquan Huli, and V Hu Daojia; and in the area of education and training, there are Hulian Wang, Hushi Biji, and Hushi Jia.
In this context, Chongqing Hujia Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Hujia Technology”), founded in 2016, has entered the market through online education, committing to provide examination training services for nurses, doctors, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals. Over nearly five years of development, its brand “Yihu Zhijia” (Medical and Nursing Home) has amassed over 1.1 million registered users on its app, with a qualification exam pass rate exceeding 95%. Furthermore, in the B2B market, Hujia Technology’s list of partner organizations continues to expand, including the China Health Management Association, Chongqing Medical and Pharmaceutical College, Yunnan Xinxing Vocational College, and the Chongqing Health Care Association.
Liu Taorui, Chairman of Hujia Technology, is a youth mentor in Chongqing, a serial entrepreneur, and an alumnus of the Baobian EMBA program. He told VCBeat that Hujia Technology chose to enter the healthcare professional training sector because he and his team aim to address four key challenges currently faced by nurses in China’s workplace.
First, nurses frequently work night shifts and face high job stress. Second, compensation is relatively low; data from the White Paper on the Current Development Status of China’s Nursing Workforce shows that 76.5% of nurses earn a monthly income below RMB 5,000, with approximately 37.6% earning less than RMB 3,000 per month—far below the average urban monthly income. Third, the nursing profession suffers from low social recognition, as it is often perceived merely as part of the service industry. Fourth, career development opportunities are limited, with 50% of nurses choosing to change careers within five years of entering the workforce.
“Since our inception, we have been committed to contributing to the betterment of this industry. The name ‘Hujia’ (Guarding Home) embodies our original aspiration in undertaking this venture, carrying a dual meaning. First, it signifies a home for online learning and exchange among healthcare professionals, aiming to enhance their career development paths. Second, from an industry perspective, it reflects our hope to cultivate more healthcare professionals to safeguard the health of every family.” In line with this mission, Hujia Technology has established three brands: “Home for Healthcare Professionals,” “Nurse Time,” and “Xiao Yan She.”
Specifically, “Nurse Home” is a learning and exchange platform for nurses preparing for professional certification exams; “Nurse Time” is positioned as an employment platform for nurse job seeking and recruitment; and “Xiao Yan She” serves as an entrepreneurship platform for nurses. The underlying logic is that Hujia Technology addresses the career development needs of nursing professionals, covering the entire lifecycle from job application and skills enhancement to entrepreneurship.
Benefiting from its strong reputation and effective operations, the “Yihu Zhijia” (Healthcare Home) app achieved profitability within its first year of launch. In 2019, the three brands collectively generated annual revenue exceeding RMB 30 million.
For education and training enterprises, the key to deeply excavating their moat lies in achieving standardization and specialization. Liu Taorui stated that through years of exploration in the industry, Hujia Technology has built a TSI talent development system by continuously summarizing and optimizing its practices.
“T” stands for “Teaching and Research System,” which provides professional guidance to users’ learning by focusing on five key aspects within the teaching and research sector: examinees, examinations, syllabi, exam questions, and competing products. Moreover, all instructors on the platform are full-time employees, with the majority having clinical medical backgrounds. Among them, Chief Lecturer Xia Lei has dedicated many years to nursing licensure examination research, co-authored more than ten textbooks and monographs, and published numerous academic papers. Gold-Rated Lecturer Tan Li holds a Master’s degree in Nursing from Chongqing Medical University and has published multiple papers. Gold-Rated Lecturer Xiang Jiong has served as editor-in-chief for several nursing licensure examination preparation books.
“S” stands for the “Class Teacher System.” This system is designed to provide students with high-quality instructional content while offering companion-style teaching services. By fostering a more positive learning atmosphere and promoting a healthy mindset for exam preparation, it supports nursing candidates through four key functions: methodology instruction, mindset guidance, community building, and study supervision, thereby significantly enhancing learning efficiency.
“I” stands for “Artificial Intelligence,” indicating that Hujia Technology has developed an AI-powered online school system. This system constructs a closed-loop ecosystem through features such as human-computer simulation, learning analytics, professional Q&A, curated practice questions, and premium online courses, addressing three key dimensions: fragmented learning, scenario-based learning, and socialized learning. In doing so, it aligns with the learning habits of modern nursing professionals in the workplace.
“Building the TSI talent development system has enabled us to provide more professional services to our users.” To date, Hujia Technology has served 1 million students across more than 30 cities in China. According to Liu Taorui, this remarkable achievement is attributable to the team behind it. Currently, Hujia Technology employs 80 people, with the teaching and research team accounting for approximately 25% and technical staff making up around 15%.
The sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic this year has intensified public attention to health and increased market demand for talent in the broader health sector.
In alignment with this, in July last year, the State Council issued the “Opinions of the State Council on Implementing the Healthy China Action,” established the Healthy China Action Promotion Committee, and released the “Implementation Organization and Assessment Plan for the Healthy China Action.”
“This is both an opportunity and a challenge,” said Liu Taorui. In the field of talent development for the general health sector, the markets for medical and nursing examinations, health management, elderly care, and maternal and infant care are substantial in size; however, this is accompanied by relatively intense competition and numerous challenges. “We are not afraid of problems, as long as we actively work to resolve them. Our approach is to make steady, incremental progress, delving deeply and thoroughly into this industry.”
Looking ahead, Hujia Technology will continue to actively respond to national initiatives by iteratively upgrading its product suite. The company aims to build an integrated talent service platform for the broader health sector that combines training, certification, and job placement. It will expand its offerings to cover maternal and infant care, pediatric care, health management, elderly care, nursing, physicians, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), and pharmacy. Additionally, Hujia Technology will explore offline scenarios to integrate exam preparation with practical skills training, thereby seamlessly connecting online and offline educational environments.