Recently, Suzhou ViVest Medical Technology Co., Ltd. (referred to as ViVest) completed a multi-million-dollar Pre-B round of financing. This round of financing was led by SDIC Unity Capital, with Dingxin Capital and Anji Liangshan as co-investors. Yikai Capital served as the exclusive financial advisor to Weiwesi in this transaction.
Established in 2019, ViVest is dedicated to building China's first "active Class III device + data service" arrhythmia management platform to combat sudden cardiac death. In just over two years, the company's independently developed semi-automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) have received CE and NMPA registration certificates, and wearable automatic external defibrillators (WCDs) are about to enter clinical trials.
In China, approximately 545,000 people die from sudden cardiac death each year, and defibrillators are considered life-saving devices for combating this condition. AEDs are the most familiar and common defibrillation products, often found in public and emergency locations. Public data shows that developed countries like the United States and Japan have deployment levels of 700 AEDs per 100,000 people and 793 AEDs per 100,000 people, respectively. However, China's current average deployment level is less than 0.2 AEDs per 100,000 people. In June 2019, the State Council's "Opinions on Implementing the Healthy China Action" clearly stated the need to equip AEDs in densely populated public places, and expert consensus from the Chinese Red Cross Society and the Emergency Medicine Branch of the Chinese Medical Association recommends that each province and city follow the principle of deploying 100-200 AEDs per 100,000 people in public places, indicating an expected AED market space of 5 billion yuan in China.
Semi-Automated External Defibrillator（AED）
ViVest's second-generation AED product breaks through core technological barriers, reducing the product weight to less than 700g, with a front size approximately the size of a smartphone. This innovation creates a mobile AED scenario, allowing trained police officers, firefighters, outdoor first aid personnel, and others to carry it, significantly reducing the time consumed in judgment, search, and retrieval during emergency situations. As a result, the efficiency and coverage of AED usage are greatly enhanced. Thanks to the optimization of product weight and size, ViVest integrates the second-generation AED with a customized lightweight drone to create a drone AED. Due to its unique lightweight design, the drone can adapt to urban flight permit requirements and operate in flight zones without the need for flight approval. The drone AED's intelligent scheduling system is interconnected with the emergency center, allowing for rapid response in outdoor scenarios such as cities, mountains, forests, and scenic areas.
ViVest Second-generation "palm-sized" AED
Through the coordinated deployment of fixed AEDs, mobile AEDs, and drone AEDs, Weiwesi has pioneered a "air-land integration" AED rescue solution, significantly improving the efficiency of emergency response and AED coverage in China.
Another core product of the company is the wearable automatic external defibrillator (WCD), which primarily provides continuous protection for high-risk patients with short-term sudden cardiac death risks during wear. It automatically defibrillates the patient when a ventricular arrhythmia causes a sudden cardiac arrest. Weiwesi's WCD product entered the green channel of innovative medical device review in January 2021 and began clinical enrollment preparation in 2022. At that time, it will become the first certified WCD enterprise in China and the third in the world. In August 2022, Weiwesi was selected as an innovation task leader in the field of artificial intelligence medical devices with its "Wearable Automatic External Defibrillator (WCD) and Sudden Cardiac Death Risk Artificial Intelligence Assessment System."
Drone AED
Since its establishment, ViVest has consistently aimed to integrate active device development with data services. Based on the core product, the wearable automatic external defibrillator, the company utilizes the long-term big data characteristics of wearable products and the rapid development of 5G data transmission in China to focus on the application of artificial intelligence technology in sudden cardiac death risk assessment. They are constructing a ventricular arrhythmia data service management platform and launching the world's first sudden cardiac death risk assessment system, shifting from passive sudden cardiac death defibrillation treatment to proactive health management, safeguarding the lives and health of patients.
Since its inception, ViVest has partnered with strategic cooperation partners such as Lanfan Medical and Fosun Medical to accelerate the nationwide deployment of AED products. In early 2022, Weiwesi, in collaboration with its partner Lanfan Medical, successfully provided AED emergency rescue support to the Chaoyang District Volunteer Service Station of the Beijing Winter Olympics.
This round of financing will support the advancement of clinical trials for ViVest's WCD products, and the company's heavyweight reserve products in the R&D pipeline will officially enter the prototype stage. The AED products of the company will also expand production capacity, accelerate multi-category R&D, and expand overseas sales.