Waterdrop Inc. Completes Series C Funding of Over 1 Billion RMB
"Proactive protection + post-event relief" — working together to safeguard hundreds of millions of families.
On June 12, at the Waterdrop 2019 Global Partners Conference co-hosted by Waterdrop Insurance Mall — a leading health insurance marketplace in China — alongside Tsinghua University PBC School of Finance's Weiyang Network and China Insurance News, Waterdrop founder and CEO Shen Peng announced that Waterdrop had completed a Series C financing round exceeding RMB 1 billion. The round was led by Boyu Capital, with participation from Tencent, Gaorong Ventures, CICC Capital, and other notable investment institutions. Gaorong Ventures had been Waterdrop's angel investor and also participated in its Series A, B, and C rounds.
Waterdrop founder and CEO Shen Peng
This marked Waterdrop's second financing round in the first half of the year. On March 27, the company announced a Series B round of nearly RMB 500 million. In less than three months, Waterdrop's total financing had surpassed RMB 1.5 billion — a record for the internet health protection sector this year.
"Waterdrop Insurance Mall" is a key business segment of Waterdrop, formerly known as "Waterdrop Insurance." It holds a nationwide insurance brokerage license. At the conference, Waterdrop Insurance announced a brand upgrade plan: the marketplace would expand and deepen its insurance categories, enrich products and services, and strengthen deep collaboration with partner insurers. Twenty-eight prominent insurance companies attended and joined as inaugural partners, including China Taiping, Ping An, PICC, Anxin Insurance, ZhongAn Insurance, JD Allianz, MetLife, and Hengqin Life. Meanwhile, renowned performing artist Ni Dahong joined the company as "Waterdrop Chief Curator."
Boyu Capital stated that its investment in Waterdrop reflected confidence in the company's "pre-event protection + post-event assistance" positioning and its potential to further strengthen the protection system for Chinese families. As a backbone player in insurtech, Waterdrop has used technological innovation to find breakthroughs in making insurance services more inclusive. "We believe in Waterdrop's growth speed and potential in the insurtech sector, as well as the leadership strength it has demonstrated in the health insurance marketplace."
Gaorong Ventures commented: "Using internet technology to help ensure broad access to medical protection for the masses — Waterdrop is undertaking a mission rooted in genuine goodwill. Shen Peng is an exceptional young entrepreneur. In the three years since founding Waterdrop, he has shown deep respect for time and user feedback, building multiple businesses that create value for society. We believe Waterdrop's mission to 'protect hundreds of millions of families' will enable more users to access inclusive health protection services."
Waterdrop founder and CEO Shen Peng (left) and Gaorong Ventures founding partner Chang Chen (right)
Waterdrop founder and CEO Shen Peng said: "The company will vigorously develop health protection businesses including Waterdrop Insurance Mall and Waterdrop Mutual Aid, building a better user experience for health insurance marketplaces and health protection services. We will prioritize using the raised funds to build professional teams for the health insurance marketplace and to apply artificial intelligence in our marketplace operations. Meanwhile, Waterdrop Fundraising and the Waterdrop Public Welfare platform — which constitute Waterdrop's social responsibility segment — will continue to help more impoverished families and critically ill patients access medical care."
Since its founding, Waterdrop has successively launched Waterdrop Mutual Aid, a network mutual aid platform; Waterdrop Fundraising, a personal critical illness assistance platform; and Waterdrop Insurance Mall, an internet insurance brokerage platform. Currently, the insurance mall operates primarily through official accounts and mini-programs within the WeChat ecosystem. Though a late starter, its growth has been remarkable — it has already entered the top tier of China's internet health insurance marketplace platforms, joining Alipay and WeSure as the "Big Three Traffic Players." In May alone, monthly new annualized written premiums exceeded RMB 500 million.
Meanwhile, Waterdrop Insurance Mall has cumulatively partnered with over 60 insurance companies, launching more than 80 high-value insurance products. Ninety percent of users completed their first online insurance purchase through the platform, with a repurchase intention rate of 73% — making it the undisputed leader among internet health insurance marketplace platforms.
Following the brand upgrade, user experience will improve comprehensively, and more insurance companies are expected to join. Yang Guang, Waterdrop partner and general manager of Waterdrop Insurance Mall, noted that for users, "insurance mall" means more product choices and more comprehensive services; for partners, the platform will further open up collaboration, working with other industry players to build an ecosystem and jointly protect the future.
This year marks Waterdrop's third anniversary. Over three years, Waterdrop's various businesses have grown rapidly in China's third-, fourth-, and fifth-tier cities and townships, with independent paying users exceeding 250 million. Waterdrop Insurance Mall and Waterdrop Mutual Aid constitute Waterdrop's commercial segment, while Waterdrop Fundraising and Waterdrop Public Welfare form its social responsibility module — together protecting hundreds of millions of families through "pre-event protection + post-event assistance."
Waterdrop Mutual Aid Completes Nearly RMB 500 Million Series B, Gaorong Ventures Continues to Invest
