Tech investment paves way for future healthcare

China's medical artificial intelligence sector is experiencing rapid expansion, driven by increasing demand for medical data analysis and online consultations. The entry and continued investment of tech giants such as Huawei and Ping An are set to further accelerate this growth.

By integrating AI into medical services such as online consultations, diagnoses, and clinical treatment support, China aims to alleviate pressure on traditional healthcare systems and build a more robust and sustainable future for healthcare, experts said.

Ping An Healthcare and Technology, a Hong Kong-listed company, has leveraged AI-driven initiatives to achieve significant economies of scale. The Shanghai-based firm, providing online medical services to both consumers and businesses, has integrated DeepSeek with its large multi-modal Ping An Medical Master and its applications, resulting in improved efficiency and service quality.

On Thursday, the company reported AI-powered service indexes exceeding 95 percent in areas such as health checkup interpretation, diagnosis, and intelligent recommendation accuracy. In addition, chronic disease management improvement rates have reached 90 percent. By 2024, the company had amassed 1.44 billion online consultation data points.

Ping An Healthcare and Technology achieved its first profitable year in 2024 with a net profit of 158 million yuan, and plans to continue investing in AI. Its home elderly-care business saw a remarkable 413-percent increase.

Huawei Technologies has also reportedly established a dedicated medical and healthcare team to expand its presence in the AI-powered healthcare sector. The company didn't comment on the issue on Thursday.

In February, Shanghai Ruijin Hospital and Huawei unveiled RuiPath, an AI pathology model designed to enhance diagnostic efficiency and accuracy. The collaboration aims to address the shortage of pathologists in China and provide more precise decision support for clinical treatment.

Besides Huawei and Ping An, other tech giants Baidu, Tencent, Alibaba, and JD.com have also entered the medical AI sector.

These developments align with Shanghai's strategic goal of becoming a global medical AI hub by 2027. The city's two-year work plan includes initiatives to deepen frontier research, build computing power clusters, and establish biodata platforms, all aimed at accelerating the advancement of AI in healthcare.