Gengmei App Completes First Tranche of Series C Funding to Strengthen Medical Aesthetics Ecosystem

Liu Di, founder of Gengmei, confirmed to reporters that Gengmei has completed the first closing of its Series C financing. The funding amount exceeds the total raised by all industry peers combined, with joint investment from lead investors Chao Hong Ji Group and Suning Universal, as well as Tencent.

According to third-party data from ASO100 and other sources, Gengmei’s operational metrics consistently rank first in the industry. The lead investors in Gengmei’s Series C round include Tencent, the largest online traffic portal, as well as Suning Universal and Chao Hong Ji Group, both publicly listed companies and the most powerful capital players in the medical aesthetics industry. This golden combination will further solidify Gengmei’s position as the industry leader.

Liu Di stated that upon the completion of this round of financing, the company will further strengthen its online-to-offline (O2O) closed-loop ecosystem for medical aesthetics. Additional details regarding the financing and future strategic development plans will be announced at a later press conference.

The Golden Investor Duo: The Largest Online Traffic Portal + The Most Powerful Capital in the Medical Aesthetics Industry

In an interview with the media, Liu Di, Founder and CEO of Gengmei, stated that the decision by several new investors to back Gengmei reflects not only their optimism about the prospects of the internet-based medical aesthetics industry, but also their recognition of Gengmei’s development over the past three years.

Gengmei and its investors chose each other due to their shared values and strategic objectives: Currently, the Chao Hong Ji Group has clearly defined its strategic direction as building a light-luxury fashion industrial group centered on “middle-class women,” creating a fashionable lifestyle ecosystem for middle-class female consumers. This target audience significantly overlaps with Gengmei’s user base, thereby enabling greater synergies in user engagement.

Suning Universal, a top 500 enterprise in China, has announced in recent years its large-scale entry into the medical aesthetics industry. It has acquired stakes in South Korea’s largest healthcare group (which owns ID Hospital, a leading plastic surgery clinic in South Korea) and Yiermei Ganghua, a major Chinese medical aesthetics and plastic surgery institution. Suning Universal’s investment in the Gengmei app is a strategic move that will help accelerate the group’s transformation toward the “big health” sector.

As the largest traffic gateway on the internet, Tencent has been strategically positioning itself in the mobile healthcare sector in recent years. This investment in Gengmei represents Tencent’s largest single investment to date in the medical aesthetics and broader consumer healthcare industries.

It is reported that China's medical aesthetics industry is growing at an annual rate of over 20%, with its market size projected to reach RMB 800 billion in 2018.

New Financial Services: Building an Aircraft Carrier in the Internet Medical Aesthetics Industry

Currently, the business of the Gengmei APP platform is mainly divided into three major parts: a medical aesthetics user community, health service e-commerce and flash sales, and an enterprise-level application platform for medical institutions. Later, the Gengmei APP platform launched a series of features, including real-user case reviews and a medical service rating system.

Following its Series C funding round, Gengmei will expand its existing business operations by adding financial services, including more precisely tailored insurance and installment payment options, to provide consumers with a more secure and convenient experience.

In 2013, Gengmei APP secured angel-round investment from Matrix Partners China; in 2014, it received Series A funding from Sequoia Capital China; and in 2015, it obtained Series B financing led by VIVO Capital.