Chunyu Doctor Appoints Zhang Kun as New CEO, Charts Course for Future Growth and IPO

Figure on the right: Zhang Kun, new CEO of Chunyu Doctor

On April 17, Zhang Kun wrote on his personal self-media account (“Zhang Kun’s Essays,” WeChat Official Account: ZKmemo), “Hello to all colleagues in the Chunyu family! Starting in May, I will join hands with my brothers and sisters at Chunyu to uphold Zhang Rui’s banner and forge ahead on the path of mobile healthcare.”

Subsequently, VCBeat contacted Tan Wanneng, Public Relations Director at Chunyu Doctor, who confirmed that Zhang Kun will succeed as the new CEO of Chunyu Doctor and officially assume the role in May.

Previously, the CEO responsibilities at Chunyu Doctor were jointly assumed by Zeng Boyi and Li Guanghui, who served as CTO and COO, respectively, with Zeng handling external affairs and Li managing internal operations. Earlier, Chunyu Doctor was invited to participate in the strategic launch event of the Yinchuan Internet Hospital. At that time, VCBeat interviewed Zeng Boyi and published an article.“Chunyu Doctor Co-CEO Zeng Boyi: The Three Reasons We Chose Yinchuan to Build an Internet Hospital”

With Zhang Kun’s appointment, Spring Rain Doctor has welcomed a new leader following the unexpected passing of Zhang Rui. Who is Zhang Kun? What benefits does his arrival bring to Spring Rain Doctor? What are Spring Rain Doctor’s next steps? VCBeat provides a detailed analysis.

If time could turn back to July 19, 2011, we would vaguely recall that Zhang Rui mentioned his family members were doctors. Having witnessed the hardships faced by physicians and the struggles endured by patients, he founded Chunyu Doctor (Spring Rain Doctor). The product’s name, “Chunyu” (Spring Rain), was suggested by CTO Zeng Boyi as he gazed at the rain outside the window.

During his lifetime, Zhang Rui outlined the strategic landscape of Chunyu Doctor in media interviews, detailing its five-year plan and IPO timeline. He stated, “At the strategic level, Chunyu Doctor focuses on the doctor-patient relationship, with light consultations as the entry point. The second strategy is to launch an ‘Air Hospital,’ highlighting physicians and enabling direct connections between doctors and users, which can be described as a platform-based relationship. The third initiative is to introduce private doctors, fostering long-term relationships between doctors and patients.”

Zhang Rui also stated, “Online diagnosis, health management, chronic disease management, and the medical supermarket represent a relatively long-term development plan for the company. I firmly believe that by 2020, no one will question the effectiveness of online diagnosis.” In 2014, Chunyu Yisheng raised $50 million in its Series C financing round.“I will also conduct a Series D financing round this year to fully operationalize the entire business model, with an initial public offering no later than 2017.”

Since its inception, the company has progressed through several phases, including light consultations, the “Air Hospital,” private physician services, and insurance, encompassing various trials and collaborations. Throughout this journey, Zhang Rui’s unwavering focus—and Chunyu Yisheng’s steadfast commitment—has remained centered on the doctor-patient relationship. As he once stated, “Enabling low-cost, high-efficiency connectivity between doctors and patients is the essence of mobile health.”

Zhang Rui’s remarks were once considered too ahead of their time, sparking considerable controversy. For instance, he predicted that the bonus period of the entire mobile internet would end by the end of 2015. Such a forecast faced skepticism and even disdain from many people since the early days of his entrepreneurial venture.

However, time has consistently validated Zhang Rui’s predictions: his direction and forecasts were correct. Much like when he first started his venture, he and a few partners invested their own funds to enter the mobile health industry, which was then a novel concept. No one could have anticipated that mobile health would become as booming as it is today.

Unexpectedly, on October 6, 2016, Zhang Rui passed away suddenly due to a myocardial infarction at the age of 44.This has left entrepreneurs in the mobile health industry sighing with regret, and caught Chunyu Doctor’s investors completely off guard. Prior to this, Chunyu Doctor had undergone several rounds of financing, with its valuation approaching $1 billion, and had already initiated plans for an initial public offering (IPO), with Zhang Rui serving as the key executive and major shareholder.

For the mobile healthcare industry, Zhang Rui was a pioneer. He lived an unbridled life, cherishing freedom above all else. Transitioning from the media sector to mobile health, he spearheaded the industry’s evolution from 0 to 1, paving the way for thousands of entrepreneurs to carry forward the journey from 1 to N.

Nowadays, internet healthcare companies of all sizes have permeated every link in the chain connecting hospitals, doctors, and patients. The heavily vertical, closed-loop model has gained significant traction, while concepts such as asset-light models, “Internet + Healthcare,” and “Healthcare + Internet” have blossomed everywhere. Entrepreneurs entering the market are engaged in fierce competition across China to capture traffic and secure entry points. It seems as though the few inches of screen space on users’ smartphones or tablets determine the winners and losers of this era.

For a long time, Chunyu Doctor’s profitability has been questioned by outside observers. Zhang Rui once stated that Chunyu Doctor would achieve profitability through an insurance-based model."In fact, since the second half of 2015, Chunyu Yisheng has entered into partnerships with well-known major insurance companies in China."”

In June 2016, Zhang Rui disclosed in an interview that Chunyu Yisheng (Spring Rain Doctor) had completed its pre-IPO financing round of RMB 1.2 billion. The company’s online consultation business generated actual revenue of RMB 130 million in 2015, with a profit of RMB 30 million. It plans to spin off and list as a separate entity, while two options—merger and acquisition on the A-share market or listing on the National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ)—are still under consideration.

It is understood that significant pressure from investors lay behind the spin-off and public listing of Chunyu Yisheng. Over the five years since Zhang Rui founded the company, its investors have sought returns, making a spin-off IPO a compromise solution.

However, a source close to Zhang Rui stated that a spin-off listing might not align with his own vision; he is more inclined to bring Chunyu Yisheng (Spring Rain Doctor) as a whole entity to the capital markets.

Regrettably, due to Zhang Rui’s untimely death, he is no longer able to fulfill his dream of personally leading Chunyu Yisheng (Spring Rain Doctor) to the capital markets.

Little known is the fact that Zhang Rui’s grandfather was a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine, and his father served as the director of a hospital. His father repeatedly asked Zhang Rui, “Is your method safe?” and “Can you make money?”

Zhang Rui’s wife also posted: “Six years have passed. My hair, once long enough to reach my waist, has been cut short entirely as I accompany you on your distant journey. Here in the mortal world, I will care for our parents, strive to live well, and fulfill your wishes.” These words expressed her deep love and reluctance to part with him.

Zhang Rui has passed away, leaving behind regrets, but Chunyu Doctor continues to move forward. The responsibilities of the CEO are jointly assumed by Zeng Boyi and Li Guanghui, who serve as CTO and COO, respectively, with Zeng Boyi handling external affairs and Li Guanghui overseeing internal operations.

The issue of Zhang Rui's equity inheritance has also drawn attention from major media outlets.Given Chunyu Yisheng’s multiple rounds of financing, the aforementioned equity structure reveals that firms such as BlueRun Ventures and CICC Jintai are among its investors. It is therefore possible that Zhang Rui’s equity stake was repurchased by these investors; which specific party conducted the buyback will depend on how subsequent developments unfold.

Subsequently, Chunyu did not release any information related to equity, suggesting that a satisfactory resolution has been reached. Since then, there has been significantly less news about Chunyu compared to before.

Spring Rain Doctor returned to the public eye on March 19, 2017, when information about its invitation to participate in Yinchuan Internet Hospital was made public, marking Spring Rain Doctor’s entry into the internet hospital sector.In an interview with VCBeat, Co-CEO Zeng Boyi stated that Spring Rain Doctor’s decision to enter the internet hospital sector stems from the regional nature of healthcare; simply building an online platform is insufficient to integrate all medical resources. Instead, it is necessary to develop differentiated services tailored to different regions and populations. By leveraging the internet hospital platform to complement its existing online platform and differentiating their service offerings, the company aims to accelerate the digitalization of the entire healthcare process, ultimately addressing the current shortcomings of online medical services.

Confucius once said in The Analects, “Time flows away like this, never ceasing day or night.” Looking back, Chunyu Yisheng has been without a full-time CEO for more than six months, during which the mobile healthcare industry has undergone earth-shaking changes.

Entrepreneurs who, like Zhang Rui, struck gold in the medical consultation industry have all grown into unicorn companies in China’s internet healthcare sector.such as WeDoctor, Haodf Online, DXY, and JiuYi 160.

As the internet healthcare sector evolves into internet hospitals, Chunyu Yisheng likewise needs to confront these familiar competitors.

Since the concept of “Internet hospitals” surged in popularity during the Wuzhen Internet Conference at the end of 2015, more than 40 Internet hospitals rushed to establish and launch their operations by 2016.Among them, WeDoctor has established 19 internet hospitals across China.Achieved a closed-loop ecosystem integrating pharmaceuticals, medical services, and health insurance; leveraged extensive resources in patients, experts, hospitals, and government relations to establish China’s largest internet-based medical consortium.

Not long ago, Haodf Online also announced the completion of its Series D financing.Haodf Online boasts some of the most extensive physician and patient resources in China. By the end of 2016, it had served a total of 32.74 million patients, with 142,000 registered physicians. As of March 2017, the platform had included 490,000 physicians from 7,500 accredited hospitals across China, among whom 145,000 had completed real-name registration.

Another player entering the field is DXY, with its product being DXY Doctor.The team primarily operates two business lines: one is a WeChat new media matrix centered on DXY Doctor, DXY Mom, and Health Headlines, with over 20 million followers; the other is the DXY Doctor App, which focuses on paid online consultations.

Shenzhen is also the birthplace of JiuYi160, the first publicly traded mobile healthcare company.Luo Ningzheng has consistently stated that connectivity is more important than ownership; connectivity represents relationships, while ownership represents material assets. As policies continue to be relaxed, the 160 Healthcare Platform has integrated over 3,000 large hospitals across China, with more than 100 million registered users, approximately 500,000 registered physicians, and over 300 million user interactions.

Among these competing companies, one can more or less see Zhang Rui’s earlier predictions. Those views, once overlooked and dismissed, are now influencing wave after wave of entrepreneurs. With these small sparks, a prairie fire is well underway. The “Air Hospital” he once mentioned resembles today’s “Internet Hospitals”; his insurance-driven profitability mindset has also become one of the key pathways for monetization in mobile healthcare.

Spring Rain Doctor, which has been silent for a long time, is about to welcomeNew CEO: Zhang Kun. He is one of the few cross-disciplinary talents in China who possesses expertise in both healthcare and the internet industry.

Zhang Kun received his Bachelor of Medicine in Clinical Medicine from Peking University Health Science Center in 2000, and his Master of Science in Medical Informatics from the Warwick Medical School at the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom in 2003. He is currently pursuing a joint Doctoral degree in Hospital Administration offered by Tsinghua University and Johns Hopkins University.Has previously worked at IBM, Accenture Consulting, and China Resources Medical Group.

Prior to joining Chunyu Doctor, Zhang Kun served as General Manager of the Information Management Department at China Resources Healthcare Group.Specializing in management consulting for the healthcare industry, operational management of medical institutions, health informatics, and medical quality management.

What many people don’t know is that he is also a veteran of internet healthcare., during the first Internet wave in 2000Participated in the establishment of the online medical information and service platform "China Medical Network."He firmly believes in the value of information technology in helping the public address the challenges of “difficulty and high cost in accessing medical care.” His decision to join Chunyu Yisheng marks a return to his original professional aspirations.

After careful evaluation, the Board of Directors of Chunyu Yisheng (Spring Rain Doctor) has determined that Zhang Kun is the suitable candidate for the new CEO of Chunyu Yisheng. On one hand, after more than five years of exploration, internet healthcare has increasingly aligned with the essence of medical care. Mr. Zeng Baiyi, co-founder of Chunyu Yisheng, stated in an interview with media outlets earlier this year that “mobile healthcare and traditional healthcare are accelerating their integration.”

As a medical professional, Zhang Kun’s joining of Chunyu Doctor can also be seen as a signal that the trend of integration is accelerating; on the other hand, the trend toward mobile internet-enabled hospital information systems is becoming increasingly apparent, with traditional IT systems evolving into mobile solutions, an area in which he is also highly experienced.

Furthermore, Zhang Kun offers unique insights into internet healthcare.

He has shared the following perspective:

The internet is a crucial means to address the three core objectives of healthcare services: cost, quality, and accessibility. Developed countries such as the United States have already demonstrated its validity in both theory and practice. Like any emerging industry, internet-based healthcare faces various challenges and skepticism; however, it will continue to adjust, refine, and evolve. Its business value and market potential are beyond doubt.

Internet healthcare is not a disruptor of traditional medicine, nor should it operate outside the scope of medical services; rather, it is an integral component of modern healthcare delivery. Phenomena such as appointment scalping and “flying knife” surgeries (where surgeons travel to perform procedures) are merely transitional forms in the evolution of the industry. Significant growth opportunities for internet healthcare lie in participating in clinical diagnosis and treatment, patient services, and medication management. Leading companies in this sector must delve into core medical operations and strategically develop long-term capabilities. Traditional healthcare institutions should proactively leverage internet technologies to optimize their patient mix, enhance service quality, reduce costs, and improve operational efficiency.

Like traditional healthcare, internet-based medical services must prioritize medical quality and patient safety above all else. Practitioners should continuously research and develop solutions in the following areas: how to more accurately assist physicians with diagnosis and case analysis, how to improve patient treatment adherence, and how to deliver more timely, cost-effective services without compromising on quality.

Although internet-based healthcare, as an emerging sector, raises numerous issues—including patient privacy and data security—government, industry, and academia should collaborate closely and respond proactively. It is better to proactively identify business risks and develop mitigation strategies than to stifle the industry in its early stages by shutting down development pathways, thereby forfeiting China’s opportunity to take a shortcut in catching up with advanced countries in the field of internet applications.

In an internal letter addressed to Chunyu Doctors, Zhang Kun stated, “I extend my gratitude to the three founders and to all current and former Chunyu colleagues for completing the journey from zero to one in our entrepreneurial venture, transforming a startup into a leading enterprise in internet healthcare, and providing Chunyu with a high-level platform for its next stage of development.” He further remarked, “The Chunyu team’s steadfast commitment to mobile healthcare and their confidence in Chunyu’s business operations form the foundation of this company’s resilient vitality. Alongside being deeply moved, I am proud of you all!”

Regarding the next steps for Chunyu Yisheng, Zhang Kun outlined a broad strategic plan. He stated that he would lead the management team to continue deepening its presence in the internet healthcare sector, building upon Mr. Zhang Rui’s vision and achievements, while further realizing the commercial value of internet-based medical services.

Centered on healthy individuals, those in a sub-health state, patients, and families, we provide practical and effective health services while continuously enriching their content.

Collaborate with various offline healthcare service providers, including hospitals, physician groups, and third-party service agencies, to help them enhance service capabilities, expand service reach, improve operational efficiency, and elevate service quality and patient satisfaction.

Together with upstream and downstream ecosystem partners in the healthcare services industry, we continuously develop medical health services and products that create value, solve problems, and deliver a sense of gain to users.

Based on Zhang Rui’s unfinished strategic plan and the current situation of Chunyu Doctor, Zhang Kun may focus on the following areas:

1. Internet Hospital.A partnership has been signed with Yinchuan Internet Hospital; however, building and operating a successful internet hospital requires interdisciplinary professionals who possess both medical expertise and knowledge of healthcare information technology.

2. Continue the journey toward an IPO.Zhang Rui set the tone for Chunyu Yisheng’s 2017 IPO, clarifying that it would be the online business going public, a task to be carried forward by Zhang Kun;

3. Explore diverse monetization pathways.The monetization challenges faced by Chunyu Yisheng are also common across the internet healthcare industry. It still needs to engage in various explorations, including integrated and vertical models, online and offline services, e-commerce and traffic referral, free and paid offerings as well as insurance-based models, and even internet hospitals and artificial intelligence.

As policies become clearer and more favorable, there will be a growing number of physicians in private practice, an expansion of internet hospitals, significant investment and diverse explorations in commercial health insurance, major players committing substantial capital to build new hospitals, medical insurance support for mobile payments, and AI-assisted tools enabling physicians to work more efficiently. All these developments will benefit entrepreneurs and innovators across the healthcare industry.

It is evident that the various endeavors of internet healthcare entrepreneurs are continuously optimizing the inherent shortcomings of the entire medical industry.People have long been accustomed to traditional ways of seeking medical care. Chunyu Doctor is undoubtedly one of the pioneers in this field, and practitioners within the industry are well aware of the significance and value that Chunyu Doctor brings.

Therefore, with the confirmation of Chunyu Yisheng’s new CEO, VCBeat looks forward to seeing it unleash even greater momentum.

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