BlueRun Ventures Leads Pre-A Round Worth Tens of Millions of RMB for Zhongke Ruiyi | BlueRun Ventures
Building "New Infrastructure" for Neuroscience
Recently, NeuroXess announced the completion of a tens of millions of RMB Pre-A funding round, led by BlueRun Ventures, with participation from BAAI Ventures, Ningbo Youding, and existing investor Changjian Investment. The proceeds will be used primarily for product R&D, medical device clinical registration, and market promotion.
Cao Wei, Partner at BlueRun Ventures, the lead investor, stated: "Neurological disorders present enormous, clearly defined unmet needs across screening, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation. NeuroXess, building upon years of accumulated intelligent human-computer interaction technology from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and clinical expertise from leading centers including Peking Union Medical College Hospital and Beijing Tiantan Hospital, has developed quantitative assessment systems for core neurological functions such as motor and cognitive performance. These systems have the potential to become the 'new infrastructure' of neuroscience."
NeuroXess is an innovative medical technology growth enterprise founded through the commercialization of research achievements from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Based on cutting-edge neuroscience research that has been awarded the State Scientific and Technological Progress Award, the company has assembled integrated industry-academia-research capabilities in medical engineering to provide intelligent technology solutions covering the full spectrum of neurological disease screening, diagnosis, treatment, and research.
Currently, NeuroXess has developed four core product lines centered on two major directions: quantitative neurofunctional assessment and brain function intervention and reconstruction, encompassing more than ten specialized pipelines targeting specific needs and scenarios. These solutions will serve as infrastructure for neurology departments at hospitals at all levels, assisting physicians in more objective evaluation, screening, diagnosis, and treatment of patients with neurological disorders.
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Deep Integration of Frontier Human-Computer Interaction Technology and Neuroscience, Establishing the Gold Standard for Brain Function Assessment
The diagnosis of human diseases is typically grounded in the description of physiological functions. For example, the ability to count red blood cells and measure hemoglobin concentration enables the diagnosis of conditions such as anemia. As populations age, cerebrovascular disease, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and other neurological disorders have become the leading causes of health threats, disability, and mortality. The unique nature of the nervous system determines the complexity and difficulty of describing neurological function; achieving diagnosis and intervention for neurological diseases on this basis represents a major challenge for modern clinical medicine.
Current clinical evaluation of neurological function and disease diagnosis relies primarily on physicians' subjective experiential judgment — through history-taking, visual observation, and semi-quantitative scales interpreted through personal experience. The inability of existing methods to provide quantitative, holistic assessment introduces substantial uncertainty into both clinical diagnosis and research.
In this context, NeuroXess has developed quantitative assessment solutions for core neurological functions including motor and cognitive performance. Using multimodal intelligent human-computer interaction technology, the system precisely captures and quantitatively analyzes subjects' behavioral performance during classical neurofunctional testing tasks, achieving quantitative evaluation. Product capabilities span multiple dimensions of clinical neurological assessment, including full-body motor function evaluation with 3D gait analysis, fine motor function evaluation with hand function testing, oculomotor function evaluation, and full cognitive domain digital quantitative assessment. Such standardized, quantitative solutions are positioned to become the gold standard for brain function assessment, advancing clinical neurological examination and functional evaluation to a new generation.
Currently, NeuroXess's core products have been adopted by more than 100 top-tier tertiary hospitals including Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, and Beijing Xuanwu Hospital, earning broad recognition from clinical specialists. Medical device registration is also progressing steadily, with 4-5 registrations expected to be approved by the second quarter of next year.
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Collaborating with Leading Centers and Authoritative Experts to Jointly Drive Innovation and Upgrading of Neurological Disease Diagnosis and Treatment Methods
The innovation and upgrading of clinical diagnostic and treatment methods is often a rigorous and lengthy process. From the identification of clinical needs, to technical solution论证, to multi-round clinical validation and application promotion, every stage requires the deep involvement and vigorous promotion of authoritative medical experts.
"Throughout our product development, we have always taken solving clinical pain points as our core objective. On the basis of fully respecting and understanding clinical scenarios, we then select the most appropriate technical solutions, ultimately forming products that truly solve clinical problems," explained Professor Fan Xiangmin, CEO of NeuroXess and researcher at the Institute of Software, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
On August 28, 2021, NeuroXess jointly initiated the "Chinese Population Normative Study of Quantitative Parameters for Motor and Cognitive Function" multi-center clinical trial with 13 top neurology hospitals: Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, The Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Wuhan Union Hospital, Fujian Provincial Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, and Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital. The study aims to establish normative values for quantitative neurological function assessment parameters in the Chinese population, providing standardized parameters for auxiliary diagnosis of neurological diseases and quantitative functional evaluation.
It is understood that the establishment of normative ranges for quantitative parameters of motor and cognitive function — two core neurological functions — represents a first in the field of neuroscience nationwide. The trial is progressing smoothly, with enrollment already exceeding 50% of the target, and is expected to be completed with public release of technical specifications for neurological function quantitative assessment data collection and population normative values for relevant assessment indicators by year-end. The publication of this standard is expected to make neurological function assessment as standardized as routine blood tests and electrocardiograms in the future.
NeuroXess has also collaborated with multiple leading domestic centers to participate in the application for a series of national major research projects including "Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence" (the national brain project), "Active Health and Technological Response to Aging," and "Next-Generation Artificial Intelligence." Going forward, the company will further join hands with top centers and renowned experts, guided by demand-driven orientation, to leverage digital technology in driving innovation and upgrading of neurological disease diagnosis and treatment methods.
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Leading Scientists of Two Generations, Building a "Dream Team" for Medical Engineering R&D and Commercialization
Both core founders of NeuroXess are well-known experts and scholars in the field of human-computer interaction domestically. Professor Tian Feng, Chief Scientist of NeuroXess and researcher at the Institute of Software, Chinese Academy of Sciences, served as principal investigator for the first key R&D program project in human-computer interaction during China's 13th Five-Year Plan period, and holds key academic positions including Deputy Director of the Human-Computer Interaction Technical Committee of the China Computer Federation and Deputy Director of the Intelligent Interaction Technical Committee of the Chinese Association for Artificial Intelligence. CEO Professor Fan Xiangmin is an internationally recognized young scientist in human-computer interaction, holding a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Pittsburgh, named a Beijing "Science and Technology Rising Star," and serving as Chair of the China Chapter of ACM SIGCHI (Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction). The team has worked for years at the intersection of human-computer interaction, artificial intelligence, and neuroscience, possessing profound technical accumulation and forward-looking industry insight.
NeuroXess has assembled a diversified R&D and commercialization team, including technical talent with international backgrounds from top institutions in the United States, United Kingdom, and Norway, as well as industry experts from leading domestic and international pharmaceutical and medical device companies including CSPC, Medtronic, and Eisai. This "dream team" is poised to ride the waves and pioneeringly drive technological innovation from zero to one in the field of neuroscience.
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BlueRun Ventures was established in Silicon Valley in 1998. BlueRun Ventures China was founded in 2005 and is a venture capital firm focused on early-stage startups.
Currently, BlueRun Ventures manages multiple USD and RMB dual-currency funds in China, with assets under management exceeding RMB 15 billion. The firm focuses on Pre-A and Series A investments, covering hard technology and innovative interaction, enterprise technology, new consumer, and healthcare sectors. It has cumulatively invested in more than 150 startups, including Li Auto, Waterdrop, QingCloud, Guazi.com, Qudian, Songguo Mobility, Ganji.com, Energy Monster, Yuntu Semiconductor, Machenike, CloudSaints Intelligence, Anxin Network Shield, and BioMap.
BlueRun Ventures has been ranked first in Zero2IPO's "China Top 30 Early-Stage Investment Institutions," first in ChinaVenture's "China Best Early-Stage Venture Capital Institutions TOP30," and among Preqin's Top 10 globally consistent high-return VC fund managers.
Additionally, BlueRun Ventures has for multiple consecutive years received honors from Forbes China, 36Kr, Cyzone, Caixin Media, CBNweekly, Jiemian, and other media organizations, including "China's Best Early-Stage Institution of the Year," "China's Top Venture Capital Institutions," "Most Entrepreneur-Friendly Early-Stage Institution of the Year," and "Most Influential Early-Stage Institution of the Year."