BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Tencent Trusted Doctor, a venture backed by tech giant Tencent Holdings, said it has raised $250 million in a fundraising round, as investors pile into China's online private healthcare sector.
The fundraising marked the first investment since the entity was formed through a merger of Tencent Doctorwork and Trusted Doctors last year.
Tencent Trusted Doctor is among a number of technology-driven firms looking to shake up China's overburdened public healthcare market, with increasingly affluent consumers willing to pay for more convenient access to doctors and health services.
The investment was led by Country Garden Holdings, Tencent Holdings and Sequoia Capital, Tencent Trusted Doctor said in a statement.
It would value Tencent Trusted Doctor at more than $1 billion, according to one person with knowledge of the matter. Tencent Trusted Doctor did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
McKinsey & Co estimates Chinese healthcare spending will hit $1 trillion by 2020.
Tencent Trusted Doctor said it connects 440,000 certified doctors with more than 10 million patients online, offering services from online consulting to e-commerce to physical checks.
The company said in a statement it also aimed to have more than 500 medical institutions offline in China by 2021.
CEC Capital advised Tencent Trusted Doctor in the fundraising.