Wanling Pangu Files IPO Prospectus: Embedding AI-Powered Pre-Diagnosis Reports into HIS to Revolutionize Mental Healthcare

When discussing mental illness, people often contrast the vast number of individuals affected with the limited medical resources available to highlight the severity of the issue. In China, one in every 13 people suffers from a mental disorder, yet there are only 20,000 psychiatrists, resulting in a per-capita psychiatrist ratio that is less than 10% of that in developed countries. Furthermore, patients frequently fail to receive timely and accurate diagnosis and treatment, with a detection rate for mental disorders of only 9%.

However, if we delve deeper into the issue, we may find that its root cause lies in the low efficiency and poor integration of the current mental health treatment system.

As technology advances, innovative products are empowering healthcare systems in various ways, as previously reported by VCBeat, including Talkspace, Quartet, Wangli Technology, and Nuanxin Yiliao. Wanling Pangu, which focuses on “AI + Mental Health,” is one of the earliest domestic entrants in this field and has developed a mature business model as an enabling product for psychiatric treatment.

HealAI, established in September 2016, is a B2B “AI + Mental Health” product. It has partnered with high-end health examination institutions in cities such as Beijing, Tianjin, and Qingdao to provide members with AI-driven mental health services ranging from assessment to management. Additionally, HealAI has independently developed “Wanling Cloud,” which integrates mental health assessment results into Hospital Information Systems (HIS).

Recently, VCBeat (WeChat ID: VCbeat) conducted an exclusive interview with Ji Jun, founder of HealAI, who discussed the technical features and development strategy of HealAI.

Ji Jun told VCBeat that the initial product inspiration for HealAI stemmed from a phenomenon he observed in hospital psychiatric departments. “Patients often wait for hours to see a psychiatrist, yet the consultation with a specialist lasts no more than 15 minutes.” It is difficult for experts to collect all patient symptoms, identify core issues, and formulate an effective treatment plan within such a limited timeframe.

Ji Jun believes that the process can be optimized by introducing an AI-driven pre-consultation phase prior to specialist face-to-face consultations. Subsequently, HealAI leveraged its artificial intelligence technology framework to develop a human-computer dialogue system, embedding psychiatric assessment scales specifically tailored to the diagnostic and therapeutic needs of psychiatry. HealAI named this system “MindMirror,” with pre-consultation being its initial implemented function. In the future, MindMirror’s capabilities will expand to include therapeutic interventions.

Xinjing is available in two versions: one for patients and one for physicians. The patient version enables intelligent pre-diagnosis, psychological assessment, and psychological counseling through human-computer interaction, allowing users to conduct pre-consultation self-screening for common mental disorders, including psychological testing and screening for mental illnesses. Users can even receive personalized online cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). The physician version intelligently organizes pre-diagnostic clues from patients to improve consultation efficiency. Additionally, it automatically generates medical records and integrates with hospital Hospital Information Systems (HIS). Furthermore, the online feature that pushes randomized scales and questionnaires helps physicians conduct retrospective analyses and prospective studies.

Patients can complete pre-consultations via HeartMirror at home or while waiting before their appointments, enabling physicians to conduct more targeted face-to-face consultations based on the pre-consultation reports. This approach undoubtedly enhances the efficiency of the entire healthcare workflow. According to Ji Jun, the most distinctive feature of HealAI is its integration of AI-generated pre-consultation reports with Hospital Information Systems (HIS).

In fact, HealAI engaged in deep R&D collaboration with Peking University Sixth Hospital and Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University during the product refinement process. Each product iteration was designed to align with the workflows and needs of clinicians, making it readily accepted by psychiatrists.

According to Ji Jun, Xinjing is applying for registration as a Class II medical device. “Currently, our pre-submission has been approved, and the next step is clinical trials.” After three years of product refinement, Xinjing has achieved both sensitivity and specificity exceeding 86% in the diagnosis of mental disorders, based on testing in thousands of real-world patients.

Currently, HealAI is exploring personalized patient interventions based on standardized diagnostic conclusions derived from consensus. The technological foundation for these personalized interventions is the “Wanling Cloud.” Xinjing uploads comprehensive medical data, including early screening and auxiliary diagnosis results, to the Wanling Cloud to create detailed patient profiles. Once the data reaches a sufficient volume, the Wanling Cloud can generate big data-driven, individualized treatment recommendations, thereby achieving effective therapeutic intervention.

Following the AI-powered preliminary diagnosis, HealAI’s psychological counselors will provide patients with professional interpretations of their conditions and offer targeted improvement recommendations. For complex cases, HealAI will arrange referrals.

Ji Jun told VCBeat that HealAI collaborates with top-tier or up-and-coming psychological counselors across China. HealAI does not require these counselors to join its platform; instead, the two parties cooperate based on actual counseling needs. Ji Jun pointed out that most psychological counselors in China have limited channels for monetizing their expertise.

After establishing a non-long-term employment partnership with HealAI, they will gain a stable stream of user traffic. Moreover, as the users referred by HealAI have undergone AI-powered preliminary diagnosis, their therapeutic needs are precisely identified, which will significantly enhance the practice efficiency of psychological counselors.

In May this year, HealAI disclosed a RMB 15 million pre-A financing round led by Ginkgo Investment. When asked how the company secured funding amid a cooling investment climate, Ji Jun’s answer was concise: “We started earliest and are closest to revenue.” In commercial scenarios, HealAI has already begun delivering services to B-end clients.

HealAI’s B-end clients include health checkup institutions, corporate Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), and high-traffic mobile apps. Ji Jun explained to VCBeat that HealAI’s products are integrated into the service workflows of these B-end partners, delivering psychological and mental health services—from assessment to management—to their members or employees. Currently, HealAI collaborates with health checkup institutions in Beijing, Tianjin, Qingdao, and other cities, achieving a monthly user growth rate exceeding 100%.

From Ji Jun’s perspective, there is substantial market demand for mental health products, yet truly effective service providers remain scarce. In particular, approaches that leverage technology as the core driver to enhance medical efficiency are rare. HealAI has received positive market feedback. However, Ji Jun points out that although the market is growing rapidly, the psychological health sector is still in an ascending phase, and user acceptance requires further cultivation. Therefore, Ji Jun has chosen to initially target high-end users in first-tier cities before expanding to lower-tier markets. “Against the backdrop of consumption upgrading, relatively affluent populations may have a greater need for our services,” Ji Jun analyzes.

In terms of market strategy, HealAI has avoided its weakness in channel development by first optimizing its single-store model to the utmost. The company aims to first validate the effectiveness and replicability of this application scenario, then extensively collaborate with channel partners to rapidly replicate the single-store model and expand it into a wide range of new scenarios. Currently, HealAI is focusing on refining its single-store model. Regarding future channel strategies, Ji Jun stated that HealAI may choose family doctors and regional medical platforms as partners. In the later stages, HealAI will evolve into a technology-driven solution provider, integrating its comprehensive product suite into various distribution channels.

Regarding the team. The founding team of HealAI spent many years providing technical solutions in the United States before entering the mental health sector three years ago. Founder and CEO Ji Jun holds a Ph.D. in Pattern Recognition and Intelligent Systems from Zhejiang University, and completed a joint Ph.D. program and postdoctoral research in Translational Medicine at Stanford University. He previously worked at HBI Solution, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Hospital, and IBM Research China. Chief Data Officer Yu Bin holds a Master’s degree in Financial Engineering from the University of Birmingham, UK, and formerly served at the Research and Development Center of New Era Securities. Chief Medical Officer Yue Feng holds a M.D. from Peking Union Medical College and previously worked at Beijing Tiantan Hospital, as well as pharmaceutical companies including Merck Serono and Servier.

As the interview drew to a close, Ji Jun told VCBeat that psychology differs from other industries in that users exhibit high product stickiness. He believes that relationships among peers should be characterized more by collaboration than by competition, and he expressed a strong desire to join hands with high-quality enterprises in the industry to promote the development of psychology.