Chinese company iCarbonX to use Artificial Intelligence to dispense health advice

 10-May-17, Global Healthcare Insights 

Artificial intelligence (AI) seems poised to transform healthcare. Internationally, the AI market is set to expand rapidly. Asian researchers and technology companies, especially in China, are aggressively moving into the field.

Image: Nature

There’s a dearth of easily accessible healthcare data, because many Chinese healthcare systems have not yet been brought online, and electronic health record systems are few and far between. Jun Wang, founder of the biotech company iCarbonX, is developing an AI-influenced consumer app that will provide customized health and medical advice based on a customer’s DNA, health habits and environment.

The company has raised USD600 mn for the effort, including about USD150 mn from Shenzhen-based Tencent Holdings, which owns China’s social messaging app WeChat. Wang pointed to the popularity of WeChat - over 768 million users - as evidence that Chinese consumers are open to sharing information online. He’s confident he’ll be able to build a database of DNA samples from over one million people within five years.

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