37 Health Files IPO Prospectus: 'Users Are Our Product Managers,' Says Founder Dai Wanhui

“37 Health” (Beijing Shangqi Haokang Technology Co., Ltd.), which specializes in the chronic disease management of hypertension, has recently relocated from the Houde Innovation Valley incubator to the Baiyan Building at Beihang University this year. The new office space is neither spacious nor renovated; its team of over 20 employees, including CEO Dai Wanhui, is evenly distributed across cramped cubicles.

Dai Wanhui told VCBeat that in the early stages of the startup, sharing an office space with employees facilitated timely communication on technical and business issues, aligning with the flat, simple, and efficient management strategy typical of internet companies. “Unlike traditional enterprises, internet companies must first respond rapidly to market changes, secondly iterate their products quickly, and currently operate with teams divided into small units.”

Team Outing Group Photo (First from the right: Dai Wanhui)

TV-Based Blood Pressure Health Management Platform

Nowadays, mobile health applications have become ubiquitous on smartphones, and apps for chronic disease management are flooding major app markets. Meanwhile, the digital upgrade of home televisions is gradually integrating TV terminals into the Internet of Everything network. In light of this market trend, Dai Wanhui predicts that televisions will inevitably gain internet connectivity in the future, achieving comprehensive digitalization and network integration.

What 37 Health is currently doing is replicating its mobile-based blood pressure management platform onto television screens. First, the population with chronic diseases tends to be older, resulting in naturally lower smartphone usage rates. Additionally, blood pressure measurements are mostly taken at home, where watching TV is a primary activity. In the future, as large-screen TVs incorporate features such as cameras and smart interfaces, they will become ideal terminals for remote consultations and video interactions.

“TVs are becoming increasingly multimedia-enabled, capable of achieving interconnectivity and collaborative interaction with internet-connected smartphones,” said Dai Wanhui. “We have already established partnerships with smart TV manufacturers and the broadcasting and television administrations in provinces such as Shandong and Guizhou, and the solution will be implemented during the National Day holiday period.” Dai Wanhui introduced that the current 37 Health TV terminals primarily focus on displaying user medical records and measurement data, with video interactions between patients, doctors, and family members to be added in the future.

“Precisely because 37 Health already boasts the largest user base on mobile devices, and given that TV terminals represent a future development trend, Dai Wanhui stated that 37 Health will devote more time and resources to the TV terminal segment.”

Blood Pressure Manager App, Used by 2 Million Users

“Since its launch in November 2013, the Blood Pressure Manager app developed by 37 Health has accumulated a user base of 2 million. ‘With this 2-million-user foundation, Blood Pressure Manager has become China’s largest hypertension management platform,’ Dai Wanhui told VCBeat.”

When the app was launched on app stores without any promotional campaigns, it attracted 500,000 users within three to four months, much like a magnet. Dai Wanhui attributes this success to their early entry and priority in capturing an untapped market. At the time of the company’s establishment, most domestic enterprises focused on hardware as their entry point, whereas 37 Health positioned itself with service at its core from the outset, thereby proactively launching its software platform.

Compared with blood glucose management, Dai Wanhui prioritizes blood pressure management services. “I conducted market research, and the results showed that users psychologically resist finger-prick blood glucose testing. In contrast, blood pressure measurement enjoys broader market acceptance, and user education, awareness, and medical services in this area are more mature.”

Dai Wanhui stated that, in addition to its first-mover advantage, the analysis and processing of hypertension data constitute another core competency of 37 Health. During his graduate studies at Beihang University, Dai worked under his supervisor on a National High-Tech Research and Development Program (863 Program) project focused on medical service robots, thereby accumulating substantial expertise in chronic disease data management and services. He conducted over three years of foundational data research, using primary clinical data from partner hospitals as study samples. Furthermore, technical patents related to big data analytics have been filed in this regard.

“We not only referenced data from the U.S. FDA but also relied more heavily on domestic samples to develop our algorithmic models. We adjust and refine them in accordance with the WHO’s guidelines for chronic disease management, establishing our own processing mechanisms,” Dai Wanhui told VCBeat.

The BP Manager app for users offers a wide range of features, including blood pressure data logging, cloud-based storage, free online medical consultations, remote data access for family members, abnormal blood pressure alerts, medication management and reminders, tracking of weight and step count, photo upload of medical records, periodic health reports, health education and personalized guidance, and a patient support community.

The physician-facing app, named "Blood Pressure Doctor," facilitates the management of multiple patients by doctors. In addition to offline partnerships with third-party hospitals such as Beijing Zhongguancun Hospital, Peking University Third Hospital, and Tianjin Community Hospitals, 37 Health has also collaborated with Haodafu to leverage its existing physician resources and expand its own platform, bringing the total number of physicians to 6,000. Dai Wanhui stated that in addition to having the largest user base, 37 Health boasts the largest network of cardiovascular specialists and is considering building its own proprietary physician platform in the future.

User-Centric, Integrating the End-to-End Service Chain

It was not an overnight achievement for the platform to launch multiple services. Dai Wanhui emphasized that user feedback is the primary driver behind continuous product improvement and refinement. The app has undergone five major iterations, each incorporating user suggestions and adding new features to better meet user needs. Minor updates have been countless, with releases basically every two to three months. Dai Wanhui explained that even Apple launches new iPhone models annually; if the manufacturing industry operates this way, how much more so should software companies?

The initial version of the Blood Pressure Manager software focused solely on data collection and aggregation. However, in response to user requests for medication management capabilities, the platform added a drug database along with features for logging and reminding users about medication intake. Following further suggestions from users who desired interaction and communication with fellow patients, the software subsequently introduced a community feature. The inclusion of medical record tracking was driven by similar user feedback. Additional suggestions ranged from aesthetic improvements, such as more visually appealing curves and larger fonts, to functional enhancements like a senior-friendly version and the ability to print data reports. Dai Wanhui stated that 37 Health promptly responds to and addresses all user needs, regardless of their scale.

If software upgrades were merely “minor tweaks,” the launch of the 37 Smart Blood Pressure Monitor represented a bold move by Dai Wanhui. At the time, some users reported that manual data entry was both cumbersome and prone to omission, expressing a desire for compatible hardware to enable automatic upload of measurement results. Thus, from the project’s initiation in January 2014 to mass production and market launch in November, 37 Health took nearly a year to once again fulfill user expectations.



This upper-arm portable blood pressure monitor, comparable in size to a smartphone, utilizes pulse wave measurement technology to provide real-time static blood pressure readings. Results are automatically uploaded to the cloud, allowing users to view data and historical records either via a mobile app or directly on a PC web interface without requiring a mobile device.

Dai Wanhui stated that the 37 Smart Blood Pressure Monitor has obtained CFDA certification, making it a medical-grade product. To meet users’ practical needs for compatibility with different blood pressure monitors, 37 Health has opened its software system’s API interfaces. It has since established partnerships with more than ten domestic medical device manufacturers, including Yuwell, to provide better services for hypertensive patients.
“Collaborating with device manufacturers enables the bundled sales of application software, with the ultimate focus remaining on hypertension management services. The service terminals may include smartphones, PCs, or televisions,” Dai Wanhui told VCBeat. From front-end hardware device connectivity to software platform analytics and further to integration with medical services, 37 Health has largely established an end-to-end service chain. “We aim to provide simple, one-click operations, allowing users to enjoy a one-stop blood pressure monitoring service experience.”

In addition to signing partnerships with hardware manufacturers, 37 Health has also secured collaborations with the virtual mobile operator LeYu and China Telecom. “LeYu has launched the Miao Health chronic disease management service and hopes that we can provide follow-up care for hypertension,” said Dai Wanhui. When asked about future product improvements, he stated that these would depend on user feedback, emphasizing that “our users are our product managers.”

Editor: Bu Yan

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