Yidianling Secures Tens of Millions in Series A Funding to Accelerate AI-Powered Mental Health Product Development and Files IPO Prospectus

VCBeat has learned that Yi Dian Ling, a well-known psychological service platform in China, recently secured tens of millions of yuan in Series A financing, with Proxima Capital and Yueyin Medical Fund as the investors.

Prior to its Series A round, Yi Dian Ling had secured RMB 5 million in angel financing and RMB 10 million in Pre-A financing.

The “Guiding Opinions on Strengthening Mental Health Services,” jointly issued by 22 national ministries and commissions, also emphasizes the critical importance of fully leveraging the mental health services industry. However, the current state of mental health services falls far short of meeting the needs of the public and the requirements of economic development, indicating a substantial unmet social demand.

Yidianling, established in August 2015, is positioned as an online platform for “Internet + psychological services.” It provides a one-stop online mental health service suite, including psychological counseling, marriage and relationship counseling, parent-child education counseling, emotional sharing, telephone support, psychological assessments, mental health information, and psychological courses. In late 2017, the company began exploring offline services by establishing in-person counseling centers, thereby achieving an integrated online-offline model. Going forward, it will focus its expansion on major first-tier cities in China, offering users and mental health professionals more diverse options for communication and engagement.

In the context of China’s current reality, users seeking psychological services face significant challenges in finding suitable counselors, resulting in high time costs for clients. Meanwhile, a large number of counselors can only acquire clients through referrals from friends. According to Xu Yingqi, President of Yidianling, the Yidianling platform leverages the internet’s advantages of “high reach” and “low selection costs” to connect counselors and users with minimal cost and maximum efficiency. Through the platform’s auxiliary systems, users receive more professional, timely, and valuable services.

Since its inception, Yidianling has consistently prioritized professional service efficacy, regarding psychological counselors as its most valuable asset. To date, it has attracted more than 6,000 licensed psychological counselors from both domestic and international markets. Over the past three years, Yidianling has helped over two million users address various psychological concerns, with total paid consultation hours exceeding 200 million minutes. Cumulative pro bono service hours have surpassed 1.2 million, aiding in the rescue of more than 150,000 families in crisis.

Following the successful completion of this financing round, Xu Yingqi stated that Yi Dian Ling will focus its efforts on service innovation, expanding the formats of psychological services, refining product development, establishing a standardized system for psychological services, and enhancing service quality. Furthermore, Yi Dian Ling emphasizes leveraging technology to advance the direction of psychological services and will increase its investment in the development and deployment of AI applications, enabling users to access more convenient and targeted psychological support. To this end, Yi Dian Ling has established a dedicated “Product Research Institute” and is recruiting Psychological Knowledge Engineers globally, with a focus on the research and development of intelligent psychological products.

What gives Xu Yingqi the greatest confidence is the promising outlook for China’s psychological services industry and the high level of user satisfaction with its services. The office walls, adorned with numerous silk banners gifted by clients, along with plaques sent in by users, undoubtedly serve as the most compelling testament to the effectiveness of the psychological counseling provided.

In terms of the professional development mechanism for counselors on its platform, Yi Dian Ling adopts the principle of "lenient entry but strict selection." Onboarding does not automatically grant the privilege to provide services. For onboarded counselors, Yi Dian Ling has established a scientifically rigorous training system and a supervised growth mechanism. Meanwhile, it imposes strict requirements on contracted counselors regarding their training background, personal therapy experience, supervision received, and accumulated case hours. Only through these measures can Yi Dian Ling fulfill its commitment to "providing valuable services to clients." All these professional efforts are directed toward Yi Dian Ling’s vision: to become the most professional mental health service platform.

Driven by their optimism for the mental health services industry and their commitment to national public health, Proxima Capital, which has long been dedicated to enhancing population-wide health and serving outstanding, highly innovative enterprises, and Yinyue Medical Fund, which focuses on the healthcare sector and is committed to advancing the development of China’s healthcare industry, have reached a strong consensus with Yi Dian Ling. Sharing common values, they have decided to join forces, thereby ensuring the smooth completion of what stands as the largest financing round in China’s mental health services industry to date.

Xu Yingqi stated, “This Series A financing will propel Yidianling’s development to the next level. Yidianling is not content with merely being a leader in the mental health services industry; we recognize that there are still many areas where we fall short and much work to be done. Our team will remain grounded in China’s realities, advancing the localization of psychology while inheriting the psychological essence of Chinese culture. We are committed to serving Chinese clients, exploring the Chinese model, and leading the global development of psychology through Chinese initiatives. I believe that, with our joint efforts, we will surely realize Yidianling’s mission: ‘To bring greater happiness to all people.’”