Top 10 Female Entrepreneurs in China's Digital Health Sector Celebrated Amid IPO Filing

The workplace has never lacked outstanding women, and the field of internet healthcare is no exception. Outside the office, they are gentle and beautiful “young ladies”; inside the workplace, they are shrewd and capable “Superwomen.”

On this holiday dedicated to women, VCBeat revisits female entrepreneurs it has previously engaged with, thanking them for adding a beautiful dimension to the digital health startup ecosystem.

Yaguo Technology, Li Qian

Li Qian is the founder of Beijing Yaguo Technology Co., Ltd., an innovative medical device company specializing in airway management and respiratory therapy. The company is developing a “most advanced and most human-centric” assisted sputum clearance system for critically ill patients worldwide.

Li Qian once stated that she did not wish to compete in already saturated fields, but rather aimed to pursue genuine innovation and pioneer new frontiers. Consequently, she founded Yaguo Technology to develop an intelligent bionic sputum clearance system. This system simulates normal human coughing from two aspects—airflow and muscle movement—enabling patients to safely and efficiently clear secretions from the deep lungs through coughing, much like healthy individuals. Previously, no such bionic sputum clearance products were available on the market, making this system a pioneering solution that fills a gap in this niche segment of the medical device industry.

Developing medical devices is a “heavy” undertaking, requiring the resilience to endure solitude and withstand pressure. Li Qian is precisely such an individual who can endure solitude; since its establishment over two years ago, Yaguo Technology has maintained a low profile. As its products are poised for market launch, she and her innovations are gradually coming into the public eye.

Mobile Health Consultation: Zhou Yu

Zhou Yu is the founder and CEO of Beijing Haojia Network Technology Co., Ltd., which was established in July 2014. The company’s “Mobile Doctor” app was officially launched in July 2015, one year after its founding. Currently, the “Mobile Doctor” app has integrated a model encompassing “consultation, prescription, medication purchase, and reimbursement.” It issues an average of over 1,000 electronic prescriptions per day, with more than 3,000 types of medications available for delivery.

As a female entrepreneur, Zhou Yu stated that it is not enough to be slightly better than her male counterparts in the industry when it comes to attracting top talent; she must be many times stronger, to the point where the superiority is unmistakable, in order to persuade elite professionals to join her company.

At Zhou Yu’s company, women account for one-third of the workforce, and female managers also make up one-third of the management team. Childbearing capacity is a manifestation of women’s creativity and an advantage that should not become a disadvantage in their employment. Zhou Yu stated, “After giving birth, I took only nine days off. I do not expect other female employees to do the same. Having gone through childbirth myself, I know that having children does not impair one’s ability to work; low intelligence does. Those with lower intelligence are more prone to believing various pseudoscientific theories about pregnancy, childbirth, and child-rearing, thereby inviting unnecessary troubles upon themselves. Raising children is a process that enhances wisdom. Women who can raise and care for their children well are undoubtedly exceptionally wise and are particularly worthy of high compensation.”

Compared with male entrepreneurs, female entrepreneurs face less societal pressure to succeed. Zhou Yu noted that neither the media nor the public expects companies led by women to become the leading players in mobile health, nor do they expect a woman to rescue China’s precarious doctor–patient relationship. Therefore, when making various decisions—such as whether to raise financing or expand hiring—I can set aside personal considerations of honor and disgrace and make decisions solely from the company’s perspective.

Liang Qi, Aier Era

In 2013, Dr. Liang Qi founded Aier Shidai in Beijing. Previously, she worked at West China Hospital of Sichuan University and Cochlear Limited in Australia, holding positions including Clinical Audiology Specialist, Clinical Manager for Northeast Asia, Director of Clinical Technology for Greater China, and Director of Government Affairs. She led the establishment of the hearing industry’s first online university, pioneering explorations in online audiology education in China, and was repeatedly invited to publish papers and deliver speeches at international audiology and industry academic conferences.

She is a true academic achiever, holding a Doctor of Audiology (AuD) from Salus University in the United States, a Master of Science (MSc) in Audiology from Dalhousie University in Canada, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Sichuan University. She is a hearing instrument practitioner certified by the Speech-Language and Audiology Canada (SAC), designated as Aud(C).

These academic and professional experiences have enabled Liang Qi to accumulate extensive expertise and resources for founding Aier Times.

It is understood that Aier Shidai is committed to building an international, high-quality brand for hearing healthcare management. By integrating the essence of modern audiology from both China and abroad and leveraging superior domestic and international hearing service resources, the company truly understands and meets the hearing care needs of individuals with hearing impairment in China. Aier Shidai’s audiologists, who possess international audiology training backgrounds and internationally recognized qualifications, are dedicated to providing Chinese families with one-stop, comprehensive, and professional hearing solutions.

Duomei Xiao Yi Yu Guo

On January 4, 2016, Duomei Xiaoyi released the latest version featuring a wide range of health services and products.

Duomei Xiaoyi is affiliated with Beijing Duomei Shijie Network Technology Co., Ltd., and Yu Guo is the founder and CEO of the company.

Duomei Xiaoyi is an AI-powered health assistant that was officially launched on May 8, 2015, after four years of research and development. At the time, its primary function was purely AI-driven consultation. On November 18 of the same year, Duomei Xiaoyi released a version update, incorporating moderate human intervention and partial closed-loop services. Currently, the product has accumulated a total user base of 220,000.

It is understood that the latest version of Duomei Xiaoyi has expanded beyond pure text-based communication to include features such as voice interaction, historical query records, and an intelligent timeline. In terms of services, Duomei Xiaoyi has evolved from a single-function diagnostic chatbot into a comprehensive health service robot, offering all-around health assistant services including medical consultations, appointment scheduling, medication purchasing, accompanied medical visits, cosmetic surgery and dermatology, and maternal and infant care.

In 2010, Yu Guo graduated from the University of Toronto in Canada and returned to China to start a business, where he has remained ever since.

Xiong Juan, Chunyu International

From the founding of Global Times to her decade-long journey of hard work, Xiong Juan, who rose to the position of Deputy General Manager, is undoubtedly a “Marketing Queen.” She once led her team in developing client-side products that achieved over 10 million downloads, built a Weibo and WeChat fan matrix covering 50 million users, and generated nearly RMB 100 million in annual marketing revenue. Xiong Juan was consecutively named among the “Top 100 Influential Figures in China’s Mobile Internet” by DCCI for two years and received the Zhenghe Award for Chinese Mobile Games Going Global in 2015.

Since its launch on July 22, 2015, Chunyu International’s monthly revenue has surpassed one million.

As a cross-border internet healthcare platform, Chunyu International’s CEO, Xiong Juan, stated that Chunyu Doctor is one of the strategic investors in Chunyu International, providing it with a more cost-effective traffic acquisition channel. Currently, Chunyu International is valued at RMB 250 million and is undergoing its second round of financing.

Xiong Juan stated that Chunyu International targets middle-class clients born between the 1970s and 1990s. Our core mission is to bridge the gap between high-cost healthcare and price-differential medical services, providing this user base with globally optimal cost-effective healthcare solutions.

Yuguo Doctor Ma Yukun

Born into a family of physicians, Ma Yukun chose to step outside the “walls” of Tiantan Hospital after practicing there for ten years, founding Yuguoyisheng (hereinafter referred to as “Yuguo”), a high-end medical service platform, and joining the ranks of mobile health entrepreneurs.

Yuguo Doctor’s business model closely resembles that of Oscar, currently the most prominent online health insurer in the United States. Both share the common goal of thoroughly simplifying medical services and health insurance, enabling users to enjoy convenient processes for seeking medical care and for reimbursement and payment.

What sets Yugu apart is its initial focus on high-net-worth individuals who prioritize health, value the quality and privacy of medical services, are price-insensitive, or hold premium health insurance.

Q Kangwang Wang Ping

Wang Ping, founder of Q Kang Wang, is affectionately known as “Xian Gu” by those familiar with her. She holds a master’s degree in Health Management from the Second Military Medical University and studied under Professor Li Jing, a leading authority in the health check-up and health management industry. Prior to her second entrepreneurial venture, she served successively as Operations Director, Sales Director, and President at companies specializing in medical internet services, portable wearable devices, and medical system integration, accumulating substantial hands-on experience in operations, sales, and project management.

Leveraging this cross-disciplinary background in medicine and the internet, Wang Ping and her partners founded Q-Kang Network, an online healthcare sharing platform serving small and medium-sized medical institutions and consumers.

Q-Kang Network’s founding team sincerely hopes to share its extensive experience and lessons learned from past missteps with every individual preparing for or currently engaged in internet healthcare entrepreneurship. Leveraging the founding team’s years of management experience in tertiary hospitals and nearly a decade of cross-industry expertise in internet healthcare, we utilize mobile internet technologies to decentralize operations and eliminate intermediaries. This approach enables us to deliver more refined services to end consumers, better support small and medium-sized enterprises in their service transformation, enhance institutional branding and increase user visit frequency, thereby achieving higher customer satisfaction and loyalty. The core team currently consists of four members, hailing respectively from China Resources Healthcare, Tencent, and the Chinese PLA General Hospital (301 Hospital). The entire Q-Kang Network team comprises nearly 20 people. Initial business operations are based in the Shenzhen market, focusing on health checkups, maternal and infant care, and dental services, with plans to gradually expand into additional cities and markets.

Xu Jiazi, Green Apple Health

Xu Jiazi, born in the 1980s, graduated from Harvard Business School. He previously served as an analyst and consultant at Bain & Company, a top-tier global consulting firm, and has nearly a decade of experience in the healthcare industry. In 2013, he founded Qingpingguo Health and currently serves as the company’s CEO.

Since its establishment in August 2013, Qingpingguo Health has secured millions in angel investment from renowned angel investor Wang Gang (the angel investor behind Didi Chuxing) and over RMB 30 million in Series A funding from the top-tier venture capital firm GSR Ventures, all within less than two years.

Green Apple Health is a mobile application designed to foster strong doctor-patient relationships, with an emphasis on established connections. The app features separate interfaces for physicians and the general public. Its primary function is to enable patients to maintain continuous contact with their physicians after in-person consultations, thereby reducing costs and improving the efficiency of follow-up care. Patients can communicate directly with physicians through online text-and-image messaging and telephone consultations, while also accessing personalized services such as appointment scheduling for additional slots, prescription dispensing by physicians, and home delivery via courier. For physicians, the platform facilitates the building of personal brand equity, the accumulation of a patient base, and the generation of supplementary income, thus restoring medical services to their intrinsic value.

Feng Yanfei, Mild Sugar

Feng Yanfei holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a Bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences from Peking University. He previously served as Vice President at Eddingpharm, where he was responsible for corporate strategic investments, product licensing, and investor relations. He also formerly held the position of Global Marketing Manager at Abbott Laboratories, overseeing hospital market promotion and sales in China.

Founded in 2013 under the original name Boyibang, WeiTang (renamed in 2014) is a professional comprehensive diabetes management platform that provides diabetes care services both within and outside hospital settings. Currently, it operates two core apps: the “WeiTang” app for patients with diabetes and the “WeiTang Doctor” app for healthcare professionals. Since its launch in January 2014, WeiTang has recruited 11,000 leading diabetes specialists across China, achieved 100% coverage of hospitals at the secondary level and above, and registered more than 2 million users with diabetes.

Feng Yanfei stated that Weitang’s future business model will continue to center on user needs and deliver core value, building upon its existing high-quality products and active user base. From Weitang’s perspective, service remains the top priority. Feng also emphasized that Weitang’s vision is to harness internet platforms to better manage diabetes, alleviating the suffering of countless patients.

Tangren Health, Tang Jing

Among the eight founding members of Tangren Health, five have backgrounds of living and studying in Hong Kong.

Tang Jing was no exception. In 2013, she earned her research-based Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

After graduating in Hong Kong and returning to the Chinese mainland, they keenly perceived the disparity in medical standards between the two regions. To bridge the information asymmetry between the mainland and Hong Kong and lower the barriers and costs of cross-border healthcare, Tangren Health has consolidated information on Hong Kong’s medical resources accessible to mainland residents, establishing a cross-border healthcare information platform. The platform aims to provide free and transparent information services to individuals seeking medical treatment in Hong Kong.

Unlike traditional cross-border healthcare intermediaries that profit from information asymmetry, Tangren Health is committed to operating as an open platform, striving to integrate all Hong Kong medical resources accessible to mainland China residents and enabling users to independently search for and contact suitable physicians on the platform.

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