Yingkang Technology Files for IPO After Serving Over 300 Tier-3 Hospitals and 10 Million Inpatients Annually

Nutrition and health, on the one hand, represent a simple and ordinary aspiration for every individual; on the other, they are closely intertwined with medical care.

In 2008, Yingkang Technology was established with the aim of entering the healthcare industry from the perspective of nutritional health.

Eight years later, Yingkang Technology has emerged as a dark horse in the health services sector, leveraging its professional nutritional and health services to serve over 300 Grade A tertiary hospitals across China and more than 10 million inpatients annually.

Chen Yuxin, Co-founder of Yingkang Technology

There are nearly 4 million new cancer cases annually; the populations of pregnant women and postpartum mothers each see 10 million new additions per year; the population with chronic kidney disease stands at 119 million; and the population with the “three highs” (hypertension, hyperglycemia, and hyperlipidemia) exceeds 200 million.

Faced with such a vast population with essential needs, a single product orAPPObviously, this cannot be resolved without the support of a service system. How should such a system be established?

First, professionals in nutritional services are required, and integrating clinical dietitians from hospitals across China is the preferred approach; second, Yingkang Technology itself possesses the capability to provide professional services; finally, recipients of nutritional services share a common characteristic: they have ongoing needs that cannot be immediately resolved through surgery or medication alone.

Most people believe that nutritional health can be addressed simply by following a few dietary plans and consulting a few public nutritionists. In reality, it is far more complex. Nutritional services are an integral component of medical care. When Peking Union Medical College Hospital, widely regarded as the best hospital in China, was established in 1921 by the American Rockefeller Foundation according to the standards for the finest hospitals in Asia, the Department of Clinical Nutrition was among its initial five departments.

Therefore, the first step for Yingkang Technology to penetrate the market was to target offline physical hospitals, aiming to connect and integrate in-hospital and out-of-hospital scenarios.

According to Chen Yuxin, co-founder of Yingkang Technology, hospital nutrition departments were highly underdeveloped in 2008. The market offered only a simple, standalone software akin to a nutrition calculator, which was wholly inadequate for meeting the nutritional management needs of hospitalized patients.

After targeting the pain points of hospitals, the Yingkang Technology team pioneered the independent development of the “Hospital Nutrition Information System (HNIS)” in China, helping nutritionists efficiently carry out nutritional therapy and manage patients across the entire hospital.

To date, Yingkang Technology has served over 300 Grade A tertiary hospitals across China. Its clients include top-ranked institutions such as Peking Union Medical College Hospital, the PLA General Hospital (301 Hospital), Shanghai Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Huashan Hospital, and Xijing Hospital, all of which rank among the top 5 to 10 hospitals nationwide. The company provides services to more than 10 million inpatients annually.

By providing hospital-based medical nutrition therapy services, it is possible to connect patients across the entire hospital, thereby laying a crucial user foundation for future integration of in-hospital and out-of-hospital care. This was a key reason why Yingkang initially chose to enter the nutritional health service market through offline hospitals.

At that time, mobile internet healthcare began to emerge. Both professional medical practitioners and non-professionals flocked into this sector, with platforms such as Chunyu Doctor and DXY achieving remarkable success.

After eight years of deep cultivation in the offline sector, Yingkang Technology believes it is time to venture into the mobile internet space. Leveraging its partnerships with over 300 Grade-A tertiary hospitals and a network of physicians, the company is well-positioned to deliver professional medical nutrition and health services.

In 2015, Yingkang Technology began its online initiatives by leveraging hospitals as the primary entry point for users with essential healthcare needs. It ventured into mobile internet healthcare, connecting offline operations with online platforms to bridge in-hospital and out-of-hospital services and extend the service value chain. After thorough research, the team decided to develop a C-end “Maitian Management” APP, specifically targeting patients with specialized conditions—such as cancer, diabetes, and kidney disease—to address their nutritional needs.

Take the treatment of cancer patients as an example. Many people believe that it is sufficient to simply find a reputable specialist to perform surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. However, this is not the case. Major surgeries, along with repeated radiotherapy and chemotherapy, can lead to numerous complications, such as weight loss, decreased appetite, and compromised immunity. These severe complications can even significantly hinder subsequent treatment and recovery. Such conditions are difficult to fully alleviate through medication or dietary supplements alone; they require professional medical nutrition therapy.

Are cancer patients an exception? Clearly not. Individuals with kidney disease, those undergoing dialysis, patients with diabetes, people with obesity, and pregnant and postpartum women also require nutritional services at specific stages. Together, these populations far exceed 100 million in size.

Therefore, Yingkang hopes to address patients’ out-of-hospital nutritional and health issues through the Maitian Health APP.

Yingkang Health’s business model has expanded from its original B2B (hospitals + institutions) services to include B2C services (via the Maitian Health APP), completing a layout that spans from offline to online and from in-hospital to out-of-hospital settings, ultimately achieving a professional, multi-dimensional service closed loop in the vertical field of nutritional health.

In June 2015, the B-C segment (the Maitian Health App), as an independent division, received investment from Shanda Group.

As Yingkang gradually evolved toward a platform-based model, it became increasingly evident that building a comprehensive nutrition service system requires the participation of multiple stakeholders. It also became apparent that many other health management institutions and channels were eager to integrate professional nutrition services into their offerings. Through effective resource sharing and collaboration, both parties can jointly promote the development of the broader health service ecosystem. Consequently, the “Hospital + N” partnership model was naturally established at Yingkang.

Industry giants such as Midea Group in the home appliance sector and Ciming Health Checkup in the health examination industry, along with emerging players in the health services sector like Miao Jiankang and Aini Health Network, have all engaged in direct professional nutritional service collaborations with Yingkang. Furthermore, Yingkang’s nutritional health services have expanded beyond institutional partnerships to encompass post-examination health services and community health services—sectors with substantial market growth potential. These collaborations not only reflect the broader trend toward collaborative development within the health industry but also serve as a significant endorsement of Yingkang’s professional service capabilities.

“Regarding financing, we are currently planning to integrate Yingkang’s operations for capital cooperation.”

Currently, the team at Yingkang Technology exhibits the typical characteristics of "healthcare + internet":

As the company’s CMO, Mao Jingjing brings over a decade of experience in healthcare market management. She has been a key contributor to the development of clinical nutrition informatics in China and a major driver behind the company’s 0-to-1 breakthroughs. The company has two technical co-founders: Wang Junyong oversees the B2B business, leveraging 20 years of enterprise software development experience and nearly a decade of expertise in healthcare system integration. He has led the architectural design and development of large-scale application systems for clients such as China Mobile.

Kowell Nie, known as “Lao Nie,” oversees B2C operations. He holds an MBA from Fudan University, has eight years of overseas work experience, and brings 16 years of IT and internet technology expertise, having previously served as Technical Director at a leading Chinese internet company.

The company’s CEO is Chen Yuxin, who brings a diverse professional background as a physician, military veteran, lawyer, and real estate investor, and is primarily responsible for the company’s products and strategy. Notably, the four core team members have been close friends for over a decade, sharing exceptional mutual rapport.

Eight years is a span of time that can only be reached through perseverance requiring superhuman patience and steadfastness. Living up to our nutritional commitments and staying true to our mission, we have advanced with quiet determination. Underpinning this persistence is strong confidence in China’s nutrition and health services market.