China's iCarbonX gets $45M as part of growing precision medicine push

Shenzhen-based big data healthcare startup iCarbonX has roped in $45 million from China Bridge Capital, helping the firm led by former BGI CEO Jun Wang in the race to tap into official efforts to standardize Big Data healthcare services and grow precision medicine offerings in China.

The money from China Bridge Capital comes after iCarbonX raised $155 million in Series A funds in January to be used to mine data from genomics and other related sources.

For its part, relatively new China Bridge Capital aims to raise RMB10 billion ($1.5 billion) for a special-purpose investment fund to buy precision healthcare assets, according to China Money Network.

"We favor the healthcare sector and the leading biotech and artificial intelligence team led by Wang Jun," Zeng Qiang, founder of China Bridge Capital, told China Money Network. "We are also optimistic about iCarbonX's synergy with Tencent on users, big data and cloud computing."

The iCarbonX and China Bridge efforts join varied strands on using big data in healthcare in China led by firms such as BGI, WuXi NEXTCode and Huawei among others that seek to capitalize on still-awaited government plans for precision medicine the journal Nature said in January could reach $9 billion.

And last month, China's State Council outlined an industrial-scale effort to standardize healthcare records in China for a massive Big Data push.

The mix of public policy push and private firms seeking related opportunities is a well-known formula in China, although details are usually hard to come by from companies and government officials. 

In the case of iCarbonX, the original aim was said to be on personalized skincare products and onto broader efforts at healthcare intervention in diet and treatments.

That was enough to bring the value of the company to nearly $1 billion after less than a year in business as venture funds bet on Wang's ability, along with talent such as co-founder Yingrui Li, former chief scientist at BGI, to open new doors in the use of sequencing and data.

- here's the story from China Money Network

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