Zhangzhongyi Completes RMB 100 Million Series A Funding Round, Expands Offline Chain Clinics via '1+N' Model to Focus on TCM Chronic Disease Management

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that Zhangzhongyi, a chain service provider specializing in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)-based chronic disease management, recently announced the completion of its RMB 100 million Series A financing round. The investors included Tianyi Group’s Zhongwei Fund and Shanghai Yuanshi Equity Investment Fund, which is affiliated with Lianyungang Financial Holdings.

Zhangzhongyi, established in 2014 and affiliated with Shanghai Jiuyi Information Technology Co., Ltd., is a core enterprise of Tianyi Group’s traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) division. Leveraging the offline resource advantages of Tianyi Group and Meinian Onehealth, it is committed to building a nationwide service network.

Zhang Zhongyi is positioned as a chain service provider specializing in the management of chronic diseases using Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). It primarily adopts a business model that combines chain operations with chronic disease management, emphasizing offline presence while maintaining an asset-light structure. Offline, it operates the Baozhongtang chain of TCM clinics. Meanwhile, through its eponymous mobile app and WeChat Service Account on online platforms, Zhang Zhongyi provides users with TCM therapeutic services, TCM appointment registration, and health examination services.

It is reported that this round of financing will be primarily used to accelerate the development of Zhangzhongyi’s integrated traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) service ecosystem platform, empowering clinics, physicians, and the industry as a whole.

For enterprises, establishing offline chain institutions typically involves heavy asset investment. In contrast to other general or specialized clinics, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) does not rely on large-scale diagnostic and treatment equipment, resulting in a relatively lighter capital outlay. Furthermore, by focusing on chronic diseases, TCM targets conditions where it demonstrates significant efficacy—areas that neither require the intervention of tertiary Grade A hospitals nor fall within their core competencies. Zhang Zhongyi has built a comprehensive TCM service ecosystem platform that connects TCM practitioners with patients, providing both online and offline channels to facilitate these interactions. 

On-Site Photos of Baozhongtang Chain Clinics (Image Provided by the Company)

Currently, Zhang Zhongyi owns the Baozhongtang chain of outpatient clinics. Headquartered in Shanghai’s Lujiazui business district, it has established branches in seven provinces and municipalities, including Shanghai, Sichuan, Chongqing, Jiangsu, Anhui, and Shenzhen, providing both online and offline TCM diagnosis and treatment services as well as TCM lifestyle experiences. In the future, Baozhongtang will rapidly complete its regional network layout through a “1+N” model.

In healthcare services, diagnostic proficiency and service capability constitute the core mission of medical practice. Within the traditional diagnosis and treatment framework, technology-driven innovation is fostering the emergence of a new medical ecosystem. By empowering services through technological advancements, diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities are being enhanced. This application extends beyond imaging diagnostics in Western medicine to include the ongoing development and integration of artificial intelligence in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), particularly in supporting TCM research and development as well as its hallmark approach of “syndrome differentiation and treatment.”

Zhang Zhongyi will, in accordance with the strategic agreement signed with national-level academic societies, establish a TCM-assisted diagnosis and treatment system based on specialized disease solutions by following the pathway of “experts–specialties–specific diseases–specialized formulas–specialized drugs.” It will integrate physician training, patient education, shared pharmacies, and health commerce platforms to build the most professional doctor-patient interaction ecosystem in niche segments of specialized diseases, while iteratively developing AI solutions for specific TCM diseases.

Han Zhiyi, CEO of Zhangzhongyi, stated: “The AI-driven specialized TCM disease sector, where Zhangzhongyi is focusing its efforts, represents the future trend of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) development. Leveraging Zhangzhongyi’s diagnostic and treatment system, along with its TCM health checkups, health management, and supply chain segments, and supported by Tianyi Group’s comprehensive healthcare industry ecosystem and underlying traffic entry points, Zhangzhongyi will become a leading integrated TCM service ecosystem platform in China.”

The biggest difference between Zhang Zhongyi and its competitors is that it has established a strategic partnership in the field of Traditional Chinese Medicine with Tianyi Investment Group and Meinian Onehealth, China's largest chain health checkup institution.

In the realm of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) health screenings, Zhang Zhongyi can leverage Meinian Onehealth Healthcare Group’s network of over 400 screening centers across 32 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions, covering 215 core cities. By integrating TCM screenings into existing health checkup packages, the company can effectively expand its service population. It provides professional TCM diagnosis and treatment services to screening clients suffering from sub-health conditions or chronic diseases. Furthermore, by tracking and managing users’ mid- to long-term health status through TCM screening records, it establishes a complete service loop.

The recently released "Blue Book on Health Management: Report on the Development of China's Health Management and Health Industry (2018)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Blue Book") points out that the biggest pain point in health management is "examination without follow-up management." According to statistics from the Blue Book, by the end of 2017, the estimated number of outpatient visits for medical services in China exceeded 8 billion (7.9 billion in 2016), while the volume of health management (physical examinations) was only 500 million. Moreover, health management services are offered in a singular manner, with over 95% of such services still centered on physical examinations, lacking post-examination services.

Leveraging the Meinian Onehealth ecosystem, Zhang Zhongyi not only drives the establishment of standards for Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) health examinations but also enhances Meinian Onehealth’s post-examination health management, thereby building a comprehensive TCM service system for professional health examination institutions.

Miao Hong, General Manager of Shanghai Yuanshi Fund, stated: “Yuanshi Fund was established through a strategic partnership between Lianyungang Financial Holdings, a large state-owned enterprise, and Shanghai Yuandi Financial Holdings, which boasts a professional investment banking background. We are highly optimistic about the Zhangzhongyi team’s strong execution and implementation capabilities. Zhangzhongyi is able to convene top domestic experts to jointly create a first-class chronic disease management technical system and service standards characterized by Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), aligning with the national direction for vigorous development of the TCM industry as well as policies on medical consortia and tiered diagnosis and treatment. Furthermore, Zhangzhongyi can leverage Tianyi Group’s ecosystem platform construction capabilities to build an ecological chain collaboration platform. We believe that Zhangzhongyi will undoubtedly become a new driving force for the development of the TCM industry.”