SoYoung Secures $70 Million Series E Funding, Raising Nearly $1.6 Billion in Less Than a Year

Jin Xing, Founder and CEO of New Oxygen

VCBeat (WeChat: vcbeat) has learned that on September 4, So-Young, the world’s leading internet-based medical aesthetics platform, officially announced that it had completed$70 Million Series E Financing Round. This round of financing was led by Orchid Asia Group, with participation from BOC International Holdings Limited, the China-Russia Investment Fund, and Matrix Partners China. CurrentlyThe funds have been fully received., Taihe Capital continues to serve as the exclusive financial advisor for this transaction.

This round of financing came just five months after the closing of New Oxygen’s Series D2 round. Over the past nine months, New Oxygen has raised nearly $160 million in cumulative funding. Orchid Asia has led two consecutive funding rounds for New Oxygen, while Matrix Partners China has invested in the company a total of five times.

Lanxin Asia is an investment group focused on China and the broader Asian region, and it was among the first international funds to invest in China, boasting 24 years of investment experience in the country.

Lanxin Asia primarily invests in late-stage growth and mature private enterprises with high barriers to entry and strong growth potential, focusing on the high-tech, retail, consumer products and services, and healthcare sectors. The firm has invested in and assisted more than 30 companies in going public, and has made investments in multiple vertical internet platforms, including Ctrip, China Distance Education Holdings (Zhengbao Education), EachNet, Autohome, and Zhaopin.

Notably, New Oxygen has newly introduced two companies in this round"State-Owned" Investment Institutions: BOC International and the China-Russia Investment Fund.

BOC International is one of the earliest established and the largest and strongest Chinese investment banks in overseas markets. It provides clients with a comprehensive suite of investment banking products and services in both domestic and international capital markets, including equity and bond issuance, mergers and acquisitions, financial advisory, investment research, private banking, direct investment, asset management, securities and equity derivatives trading, as well as leveraged and structured financing.

In addition to proprietary capital investments, BOC International currently manages three large-scale investment funds, including the China Cultural Industry Investment Fund, the Bohai Industrial Investment Fund, and the BOC International Infrastructure Fund. Its equity investment business spans a wide range of sectors, such as finance, mobile internet, artificial intelligence, culture and entertainment, and infrastructure.

The China-Russia Investment Fund is a bilateral fund between China and Russia under the China Investment Corporation (CIC), jointly established and capitalized by the sovereign wealth funds of both countries, with assets under management exceeding USD 3 billion. Its investment portfolio spans industries such as retail and consumer goods, TMT, finance, transportation, intelligent manufacturing, and infrastructure, with strategic stakes in leading enterprises across multiple sub-sectors, including artificial intelligence, mobility, and new energy vehicles.

According to available data, New Oxygen was founded in 2013. Its New Oxygen app and website recorded 114 million unique visitors in 2017, establishing it as a leading global internet platform for medical aesthetics. This marks the third time in less than a year that New Oxygen has announced securing financing.

In December 2017, So-Young announced it had secured RMB 400 million in Series D1 financing. Eighty days later, in March 2018, the company announced an additional RMB 200 million in Series D2 financing. Less than six months afterward, So-Young announced its Series E funding round, becoming the only medical aesthetics platform to reach this stage. Within less than a year, the company had raised a cumulative total of nearly USD 160 million, setting a recent record for the largest single financing round in the medical aesthetics industry.

Jin Xing, founder and CEO of So-Young, stated, “The continuous support from existing shareholders, coupled with the entry of state-backed investment funds, not only signifies strong recognition of So-Young’s market position and sustained optimism about its future development, but also reflects confidence in the growth potential of the medical aesthetics industry. Unlike typical internet platforms, internet healthcare platforms are engaged in”Not merely traffic distribution, but rather for medical institutions, physicians, and patientsProviding Comprehensive Professional Services, this capability requires long-term accumulation. We will continue to invest in this area, enhance the professionalism of our platform, improve our comprehensive service capabilities, and become a “slow company” that makes users feel both professional and warm.”

Regarding the use of funds from this round of financing, Jin Xing stated that it was primarily considered from the perspective of strategy and business development, and will be specifically used for:

First,Service Upgrade. Provide users with a full-process, high-quality, concierge-level service that not only makes them feel secure, but also cared for and professionally supported;

Second,Exploration and Incubation of New Businesses, including the AI-driven aesthetic diagnosis and treatment system and improvements in supply chain efficiency;

Third,Expand the Team, attract more outstanding talents.

Hong Deshang, Partner at Lanxin Asia, stated, “Driven by consumption upgrades and the ‘beauty economy,’ the medical aesthetics industry has experienced rapid growth in recent years. The extensive repository of ‘Beauty Diaries’ on SoYoung has empowered consumers to make informed purchasing decisions and fostered greater transparency and market-oriented services within the industry. As a leading player, SoYoung has achieved robust growth and delivers a superior user experience. By providing high-quality services and content, the company has established significant competitive moats. Lanxin is highly optimistic about this sector and SoYoung’s future prospects.”

Wang Lixin, Managing Director of the Direct Investment Department at BOC International, stated, “With the introduction of mobile internet community features into the medical aesthetics industry, information has become more transparent, credit evaluations have become more efficient, and consumer experiences have consequently improved. In the future, the industry will adopt more artificial intelligence technologies to make medical aesthetic services more personalized, intelligent, and professional. BOC International has long focused on the integration and application of mobile internet, artificial intelligence, and blockchain technologies across various industries. SoYoung is such a company that has brought significant changes to industry development, and we believe it will continue to deliver more surprises in the future.”

Wang Huadong, Partner at Matrix Partners China, stated, “This marks our fourth increase in stake since our Series A investment in New Oxygen. From its early days as a community to its current status as a trading platform, we highly appreciate the Venus team’s understanding of the market and product, as well as their execution capabilities. We look forward to the company’s further expansion in the medical aesthetics and female consumer markets.”

Guo Ruyi, Founding Partner of Taihe Capital, stated, “China’s primary market has entered a new ‘winter’ period of prudent investment,”Capital is concentrating in leading projects across various sectors.This is particularly true for the consumer and healthcare sectors, which are considered “counter-cyclical.” As a typical sector within consumer healthcare, medical aesthetics has maintained rapid growth in recent years. SoYoung, as an industry leader, has established China’s leading media, community, and e-commerce platforms for medical aesthetics, demonstrating stable commercial monetization capabilities and rapid profit growth. With its business model validated, SoYoung continues to expand its user base, service offerings, and overseas markets, andGradually Transform the Supply Chain Upstream. We look forward to New Oxygen, under the leadership of Jin Xing and her team and with the support of capital, continuing to refine its operations and drive the sustainable and healthy development of the medical aesthetics industry.”

“The So-Young 2018 White Paper on the Medical Aesthetics Industry” points out that in 2018, nearly 20 million Chinese people are expected to consume medical aesthetic services, with the Chinese medical aesthetics market potentially reaching RMB 224.5 billion, a year-on-year growth rate of 27.57%. Compared with South Korea, there is still sixfold room for growth, which means that hundreds of millions of people will consume medical aesthetic services in the future, and a trillion-yuan Chinese medical aesthetics market will gradually unfold.

China’s medical aesthetics market is a classic “lemon market,” characterized by information asymmetry between buyers and sellers, with sellers possessing more information than buyers, thereby making trust a formidable barrier. Consumers adopt a cautious approach when making medical decisions, requiring professional and reliable information to reduce decision-making costs and risks. This dynamic creates opportunities for the growth of vertical platforms such as New Oxygen.

SoFar, the services that New Oxygen has provided to consumers include Beauty Diary, Medical Aesthetics Encyclopedia, live video streaming, drug source traceability, doctor qualification inquiry, e-commerce transactions, and financial services. In 2017, New Oxygen's online medical aesthetics consumption transaction volume exceeded RMB 6 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 300%, driving the medical aesthetics industry output value by more than RMB 15 billion. Currently, New Oxygen’s business covers 351 cities across five countries: China, South Korea, Singapore, Japan, and Thailand.