KuaiYi Files for IPO: Building a Billion-User Smart Healthcare Platform Through Deep Integration of Medical Resources and Tech Partnerships

In the field of appointment registration, Kuaiyi has been deeply engaged for seven years and has currently formed three major service sectors: appointment registration, precise triage, and Kuaiyi Talk.

Operating with a low profile and expanding steadily, Kuaiyi is building a three-step framework integrating “medicine, pharmaceuticals, and insurance.” Against the backdrop of continuously relaxing policies on internet healthcare, it is penetrating downward into the grassroots medical market while partnering upward with tech giants such as JD.com and Alibaba, exploring the internet healthcare landscape through both vertical and horizontal strategies.

To this end, VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) conducted an exclusive interview with Bie Jia, General Manager of the Kuaiyi Business Unit, to explore how Kuaiyi has deeply penetrated the healthcare sector, built a medical service platform widely praised by users, and ultimately established a closed-loop ecosystem integrating “pharmaceuticals, healthcare, and insurance.”

“At this stage, Kuaiyi is fully committed to providing appointment registration services and precise triage. On this foundation, we will then build and extend other competitive barriers.” Getting straight to the point, Bie Jia candidly shared with the reporter the company’s current primary tasks.

Compared to the early days of internet healthcare, hospitals remained relatively cautious and skeptical toward new technologies and service models. In recent years, driven by policy initiatives and the gradual implementation of the “zero markup on drugs and medical devices” policy, hospital revenues have declined. This has led to a shift and evolution in hospital demands: hospitals have begun to implement “internet+” policies to improve service efficiency, quality, and revenue, while internet healthcare companies have genuinely embraced “medical care,” resulting in gradual integration and mutual reinforcement between the two sectors.

“For many specialists in public hospitals, the issue is not a lack of patients, but a shortage of appropriately matched ones. In fact, up to two-thirds of patients seen in specialist outpatient clinics at some public hospitals do not truly require specialist care. This results in significant waste of expert resources in public hospitals and exacerbates doctor-patient tensions,” revealed Bie Jia. Kuaiyi’s precision triage service addresses this by delivering accurate pre-consultation services first, then extending support to during- and post-consultation stages, thereby greatly improving the match between doctors and patients.

Reporters learned that hospitals in Beijing are gradually reducing the number of appointment slots available through offline windows, shifting these resources online. After completing an online consultation, patients ultimately need to secure an official registration, which constitutes the core logic of the patient care journey. In contrast, some similar online consultation platforms lack access to core hospital appointment pools within specific regions. This is precisely the core value and competitive advantage of Kuaiyi.

Build strong defenses and fight methodical battles. After seven years of accumulation, Kuaiyi’s nationwide appointment registration service now covers over 1,300 hospitals in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and other core cities across China. To deepen and refine medical consultation services and provide precise patient triage, Kuaiyi has consistently exerted efforts in both depth and breadth:

First, in terms of depth, we will consolidate appointment registration resources by collaborating with regional booking platforms and hospitals, and even pursuing capital-level partnerships in the future to integrate and decentralize these resources. Additionally, some booking platforms value Kuaiyi’s capabilities in operations, technology, and channel management, allowing Kuaiyi to undertake their business operations and better leverage local resources to their full potential.

Secondly, in terms of breadth, we partner with internet industry giants to access a vast volume of traffic entry points. By leveraging the intelligent medical AI technologies of Tencent and JD.com, we provide precise triage services, thereby referring more accurately matched patients to specialists.

The healthcare industry, characterized by inelastic demand and resilience to economic cycles, is a sector worthy of long-term commitment. Driven by policy initiatives, not only are hospitals undergoing transformation, but tech giants such as BAT are also strategically entering the healthcare space. However, due to their inherent internet-centric DNA, these companies still need to gradually deepen their expertise in pharmaceutical data and authoritative knowledge.

Relatively speaking, Kuaiyi possesses a vast amount of precise data, which can be leveraged through big data technology to develop corresponding products and services. This also serves as a solid foundation for Kuaiyi’s collaborations with industry giants. Currently, Kuaiyi has established strategic partnerships with JD.com and AliHealth, providing appointment scheduling services for users of the “JD Internet Hospital” and AliHealth, thereby expanding access points for medical care.

“Internet tech giants seeking to deeply engage in healthcare services require medical resources to create an online-to-offline closed loop, and integrating appointment registration services is a crucial component. Over seven years, Kuaiyi has cultivated foundational capabilities for nationwide appointment registration services. Through deep collaboration with these giants, Kuaiyi can help them rapidly launch services, reduce costs, and generate revenue, aligning with their long-term development strategies.” Bie Jia revealed that Alibaba Health’s medical service business serves as a critical entry point, and Kuaiyi’s operational capabilities are difficult for other institutions to replicate.

In addition to appointment registration services, Kuaiyi also features content sections developed by a professional team, including sub-functions such as online doctor consultations, Kuaiyi Lecture Hall, and patient education information. These services address users’ health-related inquiries through various real-time online communication methods, including text, voice, and video, thereby enhancing health awareness and popularizing health knowledge among users. Regarding original content, Kuaiyi is collaborating with Alipay to create the “Yi Zhi Lu” science popularization section. This initiative not only provides medical consultation services for patients but also serves as a complementary supplement to patient education.

Regarding the growing number of industry giants entering the healthcare sector, such as by applying for internet hospital licenses, Bie Jia believes that “the healthcare market is sufficiently large; online pharmaceutical retail alone currently represents a market worth hundreds of billions of yuan. With national policies on internet healthcare gradually easing, companies are leveraging their respective advantages and resources to participate. Kuaiyi embraces all competition. Only through collective competition and promotion can we expand the internet healthcare market, enable more patients to accept information-based services, and thereby encourage social capital to invest more funds, technology, and human and material resources.”

"Rejecting hyped and muddled concepts, embracing healthcare, and fostering open, win-win collaboration—this is the true reflection of Kuaiyi’s commitment to putting in the hard work."

From the conversation with Bie Jia, it is evident that Kuaiyi is determined to deliver comprehensive and high-quality medical services. Reporters learned that, driven by policy support, Kuaiyi’s user base has been growing rapidly since January of this year. Regarding Kuaiyi’s future strategic layout, Bie Jia summarized it as a three-step approach: “pharmaceuticals, healthcare, and insurance.” The details are as follows:

First, over the next two to three years, we will gradually and rapidly consolidate medical resources, progressively integrate internet-based healthcare platforms or channels, and thoroughly optimize appointment registration services, which remains our core focus.

Second, prepare for the registration of an internet hospital, aiming to rapidly penetrate the healthcare sector and forge deep collaborations with the pharmaceutical industry, thereby generating higher revenue and establishing stronger competitive barriers;

Finally, with access to a vast patient base and the support of pharmaceutical company partnerships, we can develop customized insurance products for medications targeting chronic diseases, oncology, and rare diseases, gradually expanding our reach to cover more cities.

Regarding this forward-looking strategic layout, Bie Jia summarized: “Once we have solidified our medical services, we will have sufficient capital and resources to delve deeper into the pharmaceutical and insurance sectors. In terms of execution, for example in the pharmaceutical segment, Kuaiyi will not hesitate to make a swift entry. This is because Kuaiyi offers service value and resource advantages to pharmaceutical companies; their expert teams and patient populations can communicate seamlessly on our platform, achieving a win-win scenario through maximized resource collaboration. Furthermore, leveraging big data, Kuaiyi is also collaborating with hospitals, commercial insurance companies, and government agencies on corresponding innovative product projects.”

As for the future of internet healthcare, Bie Jia believes it remains closely tied to policy, with the sector currently in a state of gradual opening. Kuaiyi will align with policy directives and follow the top-level design, advancing step by step. By leveraging its solid advantages in resources, technology, and services, Kuaiyi aims to pioneer new models of healthcare delivery.