Original by BCC Global
September 24, 2024 | 9:30 AM
Introduction
China’s internet healthcare industry, which has evolved over nearly two decades, has long faced questions regarding the viability of its business model. Early in 2024, there were rumors of ByteDance potentially divesting its healthcare business. However, as leading companies such as AliHealth, JD Health, and Ping An Health reported profits in their 2023 annual reports and 2024 interim reports, the market began reassessing the value of internet healthcare. Recently, Ant Group completed its acquisition of Haodf.com (Good Doctor Online), signaling the potential start of a major consolidation in the industry.
Ant Group Finalizes Acquisition of Haodf.com
On September 14, Caixin reported that Ant Group, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Shanghai Yunyang Corporate Management Consulting Co., Ltd., had completed the full acquisition of Haodf.com. With this move, Haodf.com founder Wang Hang and shareholders like Lei Jun exited, and the company’s legal representative was changed to Zhang Junjie, Vice President of Alipay and General Manager of the Digital Healthcare Division. Rumors of Ant Group acquiring Haodf.com had been circulating since April, and this change marks the conclusion of the acquisition, officially integrating Haodf.com into Ant Group’s Alipay healthcare division. Although the financial details of the transaction were not disclosed, this event has undoubtedly sent shockwaves through the long-quiet internet healthcare market.
Haodf.com: A Unique Internet Healthcare Platform
Since its founding in 2006, Haodf.com has been committed to improving healthcare services through internet technology, aiming to distribute medical resources more effectively and help patients find the right doctors. Its business model revolves around several key aspects:
- Doctor Information Search and Appointment Services: Haodf.com maintains a vast database of doctors, allowing patients to search for doctors based on professional backgrounds and clinic schedules and make appointments.
- Online Consultation and Remote Diagnosis: The platform offers various online consultation services, including text, phone, and video consultations, providing patients with multiple options for interacting with doctors.
- Post-treatment Disease Management and Online Follow-ups: Haodf.com provides post-treatment management services, particularly for chronic disease patients, allowing them to manage their conditions and consult doctors over time.
- Family Doctor Services: The platform offers long-term family doctor services, fostering continuous health management by building lasting relationships between patients and doctors.
As of September 2024, Haodf.com has served over 89 million patients and recorded information from more than 940,000 doctors across 10,000 hospitals in China. Of these, 280,000 doctors are registered on the platform, directly offering online medical services to patients.
Throughout its growth, Haodf.com has secured several rounds of financing, including:
- RMB 3 million angel investment led by Lei Jun in 2007.
- USD 3 million Series A funding from DCM China in 2008.
- Series B funding worth tens of millions of dollars, led by Trustbridge Partners in 2011.
- A USD 60 million Series C round led by Trustbridge Partners and CDH Investments in 2015.
- A USD 200 million Series D round led by Tencent in 2017, with a post-investment valuation of USD 1.3 to 1.4 billion.
However, Haodf.com’s strict adherence to its “Three No’s” policy—no drug sales, no building offline hospitals, and no medical advertisements—has limited its monetization avenues, leaving its business model relatively narrow. As a result, the platform has struggled to fully commercialize and has faced pressure from shareholders, with multiple rumors of potential acquisitions surfacing over the years.
Alipay Health: A Massive User Base and Growing Presence
Alipay’s health business focuses on providing a one-stop healthcare platform by aggregating various services and connecting users with hospitals, pharmacies, and medical platforms. Its healthcare efforts began in 2014 when the Guangzhou Women and Children’s Medical Center became the first hospital to offer remote appointments and payments via Alipay. Since then, Alipay has expanded its healthcare offerings, introducing services such as cashless payments for medical insurance, the development of electronic medical insurance vouchers, and the integration of medical insurance codes across multiple scenarios, all aimed at enhancing digital healthcare experiences.
Alipay Health offers services like online appointment booking, medical insurance payments, and medication delivery, simplifying the patient experience.
The scale and growth of Alipay’s health business have been impressive. As of October 2023, over 5 billion users had activated their medical insurance codes through Alipay. Nationwide, more than 11.2 billion users have activated these codes, and over 800,000 medical institutions are connected, with more than 6 billion transactions processed. Alipay’s health channel offers over 20,000 services from over 100 official healthcare providers, with more than 800 million users utilizing these services for healthcare needs.
Alipay Health’s focus is on service optimization and technical innovation, aiming for broader service coverage and deeper user engagement. On September 5, Alipay launched its “AI Health Assistant,” powered by its proprietary multi-modal medical model, offering over 30 features and smart applications, ranging from medical inquiries and prescription services to report analysis and insurance policy interpretation.
A Win-Win for Both Parties
Both Haodf.com and Alipay Health offer online consultation services that allow users to communicate with doctors through text or video. Alipay Health benefits from its extensive user base thanks to its integration into Alipay, while Haodf.com enjoys a strong reputation and loyal user base in the professional medical field. Haodf.com, as a specialized healthcare consultation platform, has accumulated valuable resources, particularly in doctor listings and consultations. Since being acquired by Ant Group, these resources have been integrated with Alipay Health, enabling Alipay users to directly access Haodf.com’s doctor network.
Meanwhile, Alipay Health’s comprehensive service platform, which includes medical payments, pharmaceutical purchases, and health management, complements Haodf.com’s consultation services. Alipay can leverage its strengths in payment systems to provide convenient medical payment solutions combined with Haodf.com’s healthcare expertise. This synergy enhances Alipay Health’s offerings in disease management and preventative care.
Additionally, Haodf.com’s online services can integrate with Alipay Health’s offline services, creating a seamless online-to-offline healthcare experience for users.
This acquisition marks a major strategic move by Ant Group to further its presence in the healthcare market. Haodf.com’s integration brings valuable data and resources, helping Ant Group build a more comprehensive healthcare ecosystem. At the same time, Haodf.com benefits from Ant Group’s support to accelerate its path toward commercialization, paving the way for mutual success.
Conclusion
Though offline medical services from public institutions still dominate the Chinese healthcare market, the digital revolution is transforming the sector. Internet healthcare is redefining how we perceive and access medical services, from remote diagnostics to AI-assisted consultations. However, this technological advancement also demands significant capital investment, and profitability in the internet healthcare space remains elusive. Against this backdrop, the acquisition of Haodf.com indicates a trend toward industry consolidation, signaling that a reshuffling of the sector may be imminent.
Disclaimer: The content above represents an analysis of relevant events and does not constitute investment advice. All information is based on publicly available sources, expert opinions, and BCC research. No liability will be assumed for losses arising from the use of this information. Investing involves risks; proceed with caution.