Fu Ren Shu Fan Secures Tens of Millions of RMB in Series A Funding to Expand in Adolescent Mental Health Education

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has exclusively learned that on February 10, Furen Shufan Mental Health completed a Series A financing round worth tens of millions of RMB, with Chongshan Capital as the sole investor.

Previously, in July 2016, Beijing Furen Shufan Software Technology Co., Ltd. also secured tens of millions of yuan in angel-round financing.

Furen Shufan is a pioneer in adolescent mental health management. Backed by Beijing Normal University and the Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Furen Shufan boasts profound historical heritage and robust R&D capabilities, providing psychological data analysis and standardized assessment, psychological rehabilitation training and treatment, as well as comprehensive solutions for psychology-related issues.

Adolescent mental health has long been a issue of sustained societal concern. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) website, approximately 20% of adolescents worldwide have a mental disorder, and nearly half of all mental disorders begin before the age of 14, making it one of the leading causes of disability among adolescents globally. The number of adolescents with mental health issues is even higher; in China, there are up to 30 million children and adolescents suffering from various learning, emotional, and behavioral disorders, with the prevalence of psychological disorders among primary and secondary school students reaching as high as 21.6%-32%.

As early as 2007, the State Council approved and forwarded the Ministry of Education’s “Outline of the National Plan for Educational Development during the 11th Five-Year Plan Period,” which explicitly called for “strengthening students’ mental health education and life-appreciation education to effectively improve their health levels.” Subsequently, in 2015, the General Office of the Ministry of Education issued the “Guidelines for the Construction of Psychological Counseling Rooms in Primary and Secondary Schools,” mandating that all 480,000 primary and secondary schools across China establish psychological counseling rooms to prevent and address students’ psychological issues.

In response, Dr. Lou Ji, founder of Beijing Furen Shufan Software Technology Co., Ltd., stated that this represents a significant milestone in the nation’s attention to adolescent mental health. Meanwhile, it aligns precisely with what the company has been committed to for years: providing comprehensive frameworks and solutions for the development of adolescent psychological services.

Beijing Furen Shufan Software Technology Co., Ltd. primarily serves two major categories of B-end clients: schools and third-party youth development educational institutions. For schools, the company provides campus psychological solutions by delivering three core components: establishing campus psychological counseling centers, conducting mental health assessments, and offering training and consulting services for psychological support. The company deeply engages in adolescent mental health through a comprehensive approach encompassing software, data, hardware, and services.

Psychological Assessment System

Beijing Furen Shufan Software Technology Co., Ltd. is the first enterprise in China to apply psychological assessments to mental health education, holding ten intellectual property rights, including national invention patents and software copyrights. The company’s independently developed web-based psychological assessment software was among the first batch of such tools introduced into primary and secondary schools in China.

To date, we have accumulated psychological data on 27 million primary and secondary school students across China. Test items are developed in accordance with psychometric standards, and thousands of validated questions are randomly assembled into assessment scales, ensuring the confidentiality and high reliability of the evaluation results. Leveraging this data, the company has established China’s first dynamic psychological growth curve for adolescents aged 6–18, identifying 19 dimensions of child development and 52 common issues encountered during the growth process, along with standardized and systematic solutions for these 52 issues. Through psychological assessments, parents and teachers can accurately understand a child’s mental health status and specific issues, as well as determine how the child compares to peers of the same age.

Psychological Services

The services provided to schools primarily target two key groups. First, for school-employed psychologists, we offer psychological training, counseling, and exchanges of psychological knowledge, enabling them to utilize professional psychological counseling equipment and acquire foundational counseling skills. Additionally, we conduct assessments and training covering the psychologists’ mental health, occupational well-being, and school education practices, thereby establishing a comprehensive mental health support system that enhances their resilience and adaptability in both work and daily life. Second, for parents, we organize psychology-themed exchange sessions to help them better understand their own personal growth, their children’s development, and gain deeper insights into their children’s psychological health assessment reports. For third-party youth development educational institutions, our focus is on organizing offline workshops for parents centered on psychological growth and the interpretation of psychological assessment reports.

Psychological Counseling Room

Develop a comprehensive plan for the design and outfitting of psychological counseling rooms based on each school’s specific needs and available floor area. This plan includes interior decoration schemes and all necessary hardware equipment. The solution is individually customized and adjusted according to each school’s actual planning requirements. The psychological counseling facility may include, but is not limited to, individual counseling rooms, music biofeedback relaxation rooms, sandplay therapy rooms, emotional catharsis rooms, and group counseling rooms. It is also equipped with professional psychological hardware products, such as 3D electronic sandplay systems, biofeedback relaxation training devices, and guided emotional catharsis equipment.

By building three major business systems, Furen Shufan is committed to accompanying Chinese adolescents in their happy growth. Currently, Furen Shufan has covered more than 1,000 primary and secondary schools across China, and has reached strategic cooperation with more than 120 third-party adolescent growth education institutions in just three months.

As China’s most professional mental health service provider and the pioneer of psychometrics in the country, Furen Shufan has ushered in a dynamic new chapter in the revolution of adolescent mental health. Following the completion of its Series A financing, Furen Shufan will expand into the offline consumer market, continuing to focus on adolescent development by establishing Adolescent Growth Centers. These centers will provide deeper companionship to children, helping them overcome challenges encountered during their growth and enabling Chinese youth to truly grow up freely.

 
Dr. Lou Ji, founder of Furen Shufan, stated that children inevitably encounter various challenges during their development, such as conflicts with parents during periods of rebellion, addiction to the internet and gaming, or difficulties in appropriately managing relationships with teachers and peers. These issues not only hinder the formation of a child’s worldview and values but also dampen their enthusiasm for learning and knowledge acquisition. The offline growth centers established by Furen Shufan are designed to address these challenges through a systematic approach.

Programs offered by schools and third-party youth development education institutions represent only the initial step in addressing adolescent mental health. These B2B institutions have established lifelong mental health records for children through psychological assessments and psychoeducation, thereby raising broader awareness of the importance of adolescent mental well-being. However, third-party youth development education institutions lack the capacity to effectively resolve specific developmental challenges faced by children. Meanwhile, the number of school-appointed psychological counselors is extremely limited; as these professionals are also responsible for teaching and delivering psychoeducation, they do not have sufficient energy or motivation to provide adequate support to students who are genuinely struggling.

Furen Shufan’s Offline Adolescent Development Center offers two service models: group sessions and one-on-one counseling. The group curriculum features over 200 distinct developmental themes, designed to address the concerns of adolescents facing similar challenges through engaging and supportive instruction and companionship. For clients requiring more intensive support, the center provides one-on-one services that deliver more specific and targeted solutions to their individual difficulties.

Following this investment from Chongshan Capital, Beijing Furen Shufan Software Technology Co., Ltd. is poised to further expand its B2B market presence and maintain its competitive edge, while also leveraging synergies with demand-driven B2B segments to strengthen its B2C offerings, jointly contributing to the healthy and happy growth of Chinese adolescents.

Mr. Lu Dongcheng, Founding Executive Partner of Chongshan Capital, stated that with the intensifying competitive pressures in modern society, psychological issues among adolescents are becoming increasingly prominent. Under the current education system, students face immense pressure to advance to higher levels of schooling. Coupled with deficiencies in family education, some adolescents undergoing puberty fail to receive timely and necessary assistance and support when encountering setbacks, which subsequently evolves into familial and social problems. “Dr. Lou Ji’s team focuses on returning to the essence of value and prioritizing customer experience. By adhering to the independent development of mental health products and a chain-based management and operational philosophy, the team accurately grasps the core elements of industrial upgrading in the psychological services sector, thereby securing a place in the industry. Chongshan Capital is optimistic about the adolescent mental health sector and believes that Beijing Furen Shufan Software Technology Co., Ltd. will become China’s leading adolescent mental health management platform.”

New Vision Ventures is an investment institution focused on the healthcare sector. Its fund management team comprises seasoned industry professionals with robust capabilities in resource integration and post-investment management. The New Vision Ambition Healthcare Fund, a RMB-denominated fund under New Vision Ventures, specializes in investing in healthcare projects. It is committed to identifying and nurturing China’s most outstanding and high-growth healthcare entrepreneurial teams and enterprises, driving the development and transformative change of the healthcare industry through an “industry + capital” model.