Health start-up Medopad raises $28 million after striking over $140 million in China deals

British health tech start-up Medopad has raised $28 million in its first round of financing, after having struck £100 million ($143 million) worth of deals in China with firms including Tencent.

Medopad was one of a number of U.K. firms to join British Prime Minister Theresa May on her visit to China this week, as the U.K. leader discussed trade and security with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The London-based company sells an app that connects patients with health-care professionals. It uses machine learning to analyze a patient’s data and detect life-threatening medical conditions.

“We will be opening a number of offices across the world and hiring the most talented people as we grow our regional partnerships,” Dan Vahdat, CEO of Medopad, said in an announcement Friday.

The Series A round was led by Hong-Kong listed NWS Holdings, the construction and transport flagship of Chinese corporation New World Development. UBS served as a financial advisor to Medopad, overseeing the deal.

Brian Cheng, executive director at NWS Holdings, said: “We believe Medopad will succeed in revolutionizing the current convoluted methods of disease treatment and prevention into a more succinct ecosystem with the development of its artificial intelligence and big data gathering capabilities.”

On Thursday, the company announced it had struck 15 separate trade deals in China, one of the most notable being a partnership with Tencent Holdings to advance the use of artificial intelligence to support research and clinical decision making. Other firms Medopad established deals with included China’s largest digital health-care platform, Ping An Good Doctor, Chinese state-owned firm China Resources, and tech firms Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Lenovo.

Medopad expects to raise $120 million in equity capital funding over the coming months.

Source: CNBC

China News Healthcare Services Life Science Pharmaceutical