MoWei Intelligence Files IPO Prospectus to Capture Billion-Dollar AI-Guided Rehabilitation Market

“Scale of the Fitness Industry’s Output Value (2009–2014)” shows that the incidence rate of sports injuries among individuals who exercise regularly exceeds 85%. The “National Fitness Plan (2016–2020)” issued by the State Council indicates that China’s physically active population would reach 435 million by 2020. Based on this projection, the theoretical number of people in China suffering from sports injuries in 2020 was 370 million. This demonstrates that the market for rehabilitation and nursing care for sports injuries is vast.

In fact, exercise rehabilitation is not only targeted at individuals with sports injuries but also benefits patients with musculoskeletal system injuries, post-orthopedic surgery patients, individuals with chronic diseases, the elderly, adolescents, and those in a sub-health state. Exercise rehabilitation is a branch of rehabilitation medicine, essentially integrating "sports" with "medical care." It is a multidisciplinary field that employs various approaches—including equipment-based rehabilitation, manual therapy, and active patient exercises—to repair sports injuries and restore motor function.

Since the concept of sports rehabilitation was introduced to China, its development has been remarkably slow. This is evident from the following data: in 1990, Chinese universities began offering majors in Physical Education, Health, and Rehabilitation; in 1998, these were consolidated into the major of Kinesiology; in 2004, they were adjusted to Sports Rehabilitation and Health. Currently, only 56 undergraduate institutions in China offer a dedicated major in Sports Rehabilitation. In contrast, according to incomplete statistics, 120 higher education institutions in China offer programs in Rehabilitation Therapy. Furthermore, while sports rehabilitation practitioners should ideally serve all individuals with sports-related injuries, sports rehabilitation has not yet become widely accessible to the general public and currently primarily serves professional athletes and other specialized groups.

The Market for Sports Rehabilitation Is Vast, So Why Does It Remain So Niche? This Is Related to the Number of Practitioners, Public Perception, and the Prevalence of Specialized Services. In terms of practitioner numbers, taking Beijing Sport University—which graduates the highest number of sports rehabilitation majors annually—as an example, approximately 100 students graduate from its sports rehabilitation program each year. Extrapolating this figure nationwide, the total number of sports rehabilitation graduates in China does not exceed 5,600 per year, which is merely a drop in the bucket compared to the vast market demand. Regarding public perception, although an increasing number of people are spending on sports-related activities, with expenditure projected to reach RMB 1.5 trillion by 2020, the general public remains largely unfamiliar with sports rehabilitation, and very few individuals seek such services after sustaining sports injuries. As for the availability of specialized care, hospitals rarely have dedicated sports rehabilitation departments, physicians seldom prescribe sports rehabilitation protocols, and sports rehabilitation remains a significant knowledge gap for the general public.

Will Sports Rehabilitation, Which Has Thrived Abroad, Falter in China? MoviSpo Tackles These Challenges One by One, Pioneering the Blue Ocean of Sports Rehabilitation in the Chinese Market.

Sports rehabilitation in China has faced challenges, whereas internationally it has flourished with mature business models. In Germany, advanced rehabilitation concepts are complemented by robust sports medicine service institutions and comprehensive training systems, along with stringent certification requirements for practitioners, ensuring that rehabilitation professionals possess specialized expertise and targeted skills. In the United States, strengths in the field of sports rehabilitation lie in rigorous treatment methodologies, emphasis on functional assessment, holistic therapeutic interventions, and well-established professional education.

Danny Li, founder of MoviSpo, told reporters: “The sports rehabilitation market abroad is already highly mature. However, we see that China’s sports rehabilitation market remains largely untapped, holding immense potential. In particular, the growing population of elderly individuals, people with disabilities, and patients with chronic diseases in China will foster the healthy development of the sports rehabilitation market. We believe that China’s sports rehabilitation market will exceed RMB 100 billion by 2022. This is why we decided to enter this blue-ocean market in China, introducing advanced overseas technologies and concepts to promote sports rehabilitation across the country.”

Li Danni stated, “In 2011, the Japanese government began to strongly support the development of the healthcare sector. Consequently, we established industry-academia-research collaborations with Japanese universities and multiple research institutes. After five years of technological R&D, we secured numerous technology patents. By 2017, we had mastered motion posture sensing technology, AI-based motion algorithm technology, and blockchain technology for sports rehabilitation prescriptions. Currently, leveraging these technologies, we have developed a robot that uses artificial intelligence to guide rehabilitation training.”

In current sports rehabilitation processes, professionals such as doctors or rehabilitation therapists must be involved throughout the entire procedure. However, Li Danni stated that the robot developed by MoviSpo can fully replace these professionals. He said, “During the sports rehabilitation process, patients can undergo diagnosis using our wearable devices. The diagnostic data will be automatically uploaded to the rehabilitation database for result analysis and training assessment, generating a training prescription. Smartphones can receive the prescription data and guide patients through voice instructions during their training. In this way, patients can use machines instead of requiring human intervention from diagnosis to training, significantly reducing costs.”

While machines are undoubtedly more convenient than manual labor, how can patient safety be ensured when using them? Li Danni explained, “In the AI-guided rehabilitation training process, diagnosis relies on data accumulation and assistance from wearable devices. During training, wearable devices precisely measure physiological data, and the training guidance follows standards validated through clinical trials. Everything is based on data to ensure the safety of users.”

By leveraging AI-guided rehabilitation training, MoviSpo can largely address the shortage of sports rehabilitation practitioners in China. How, then, should public perceptions and the popularization of specialized care be addressed?

Danny Li recognizes that in China, patients place significant trust in physicians and specialists, predominantly opting for hospital-based treatment when ill. In light of this, MoviSpo has chosen to collaborate with trusted institutions such as hospitals and rehabilitation centers. By having physicians prescribe exercise rehabilitation regimens, the company aims to reshape patients’ preconceived notions about exercise rehabilitation and popularize related knowledge.

Currently, MoviSpo offers three major product categories: motion posture sensors, wearable devices, and a motion analysis algorithm system. Its motion posture sensors include smart sensors, electromyography (EMG) sensors, and MEMS sensors; its wearable devices encompass smart clothing, smart skating pants, and smart running shoes; while the motion analysis algorithm system is designed to enable intelligent functionality for the first two product lines.

Li Danni introduced, “MoviSpo’s wearable devices can correct users’ improper movements through voice prompts or limb traction, helping them perform rehabilitation training with proper exercise postures to achieve optimal outcomes in sports rehabilitation.” MoviSpo has also developed a cloud-based platform for exercise training guidance and another for rehabilitation therapy guidance, enabling remote instruction and monitoring through these two platforms.

In terms of sales, MoviSpo differs from the “B2C + distributor” model adopted by most medical device manufacturers. First, MoviSpo supplies its products to medical equipment leasing companies, which then deploy them to rehabilitation institutions such as hospitals. Patients can then purchase or lease these products at such facilities based on their physicians’ exercise rehabilitation prescriptions. Li Danni explained, “We also provide our products to hospitals free of charge, with physicians recommending them directly to patients.”

Li Danni stated, “Physicians prescribe exercise rehabilitation regimens for patients, with the entire training process guided by artificial intelligence. As the equipment’s data is connected to the hospital’s database, physicians can monitor patients’ exercise in real time and access relevant data. Through this collaborative model with hospitals, we have established a complete closed-loop system for rehabilitative therapy.”

Why Are Hospitals Willing to Partner with MoviSpo? Li Danni stated, “First, our collaboration with hospitals helps them increase value-added services without adding to physicians’ workload, as our products guide rehabilitation training through artificial intelligence. Second, we possess strong R&D capabilities and can engage in joint research and development with hospitals, helping them achieve results more rapidly. Finally, our data are integrated with hospital systems, enabling data sharing, which is highly beneficial for physicians and hospitals in their scientific research endeavors. For both hospitals and MoviSpo, this partnership is a win-win.”

Currently, MoviSpo has established movement assessment standards and movement guidance protocols through clinical trials, and has developed a movement assessment and guidance model based on these foundations. Its intelligent products are powered by four core technologies: movement assessment, training guidance, movement data collection, and movement analysis.

Motion assessment standards and motion guidance rules are also applied in services such as intelligent skiing, sub-health testing, and gait coaching. According to Li Danni, in 2017, MoviSpo collaborated with the Heilongjiang Provincial Ice and Snow Sports Center to complete a pilot project on AI-assisted alpine ski training guidance, and in August 2018, provided AI-assisted speed skating training technology for professional Chinese speed skaters.

Regarding future plans, Li Danni stated, “Currently, MoviSpo has established collaborative partnerships with hospitals and medical device companies in China on research projects involving artificial intelligence and rehabilitation training. We will conduct more technical trials to translate these technologies into commercialized products. Additionally, we plan to develop and refine our Rehabilitation Cloud Platform within three years and collaborate with hospitals and research institutes to study ten sports rehabilitation prescriptions. We aim to promote these ten prescriptions to 1,000 hospitals across China via the cloud platform, ultimately serving ten million people.”

In terms of financing, MoviSpo is currently preparing for a new round of funding. Li Danni stated, “MoviSpo aims to raise RMB 8–10 million, which will be primarily used for the research and development of specialized models, conducting clinical trials, market operations, and other purposes.”