H2U Corporation, a Taiwanese workplace digital health company, has recently closed an $8 million funding round led by electronics manufacturer Foxconn Technology and its founder Terry Gou, who is also the former's major shareholder.

The investing round also drew participation from ADATA Technology, TOPCO Scientific, UDN.com, WeLeader Bio, Fight International, and Wondercise.

WHAT IT DOES

H2U operates digital health platforms that analyse legally authorised and protected first-party health and sports data from about one in three working-age adults in Taiwan. These are Examine Platform, which corners 70% of the share in Taiwan's health examination data market and serves about 1.2 million people each year, and H2U eXpert, which serves over 500 firms.

The company designs comprehensive workplace health benefits for corporate employees, including health management, sports scheduling, health promotional events in the workplace, group exercise classes, healthy fresh food, and sports science consultations. 

It also runs two wholly-owned subsidiaries: Everyday Health is an online health media platform that provides health-related news and information and Biji is an online sports community focused on competitive running and hiking. 

WHY IT MATTERS

With its AI-powered platform that analyses first-party health data coming from its two online media, H2U delivers subscription-based personalised health services and products to the employees of its client health and sports companies. 

According to a press statement, H2U is on the move to expand into international markets. Starting this year, it will enter other markets in Asia. It is the company's objective to launch an IPO overseas within the next two years.

Moreover, it will bring in global investors from Japan and the Silicon Valley in the United States in a bid to become a digital health unicorn – a startup valued at over $1 billion. 

Meanwhile, H2U is launching its Family Friendly Award initiative this year which aims to enhance employee welfare and talent retention among its client companies, such as Merck Taiwan, Roche Diagnostics Taiwan, ADATA Technology, TOPCO Scientific, and UDN.com.

MARKET SNAPSHOT

Asia-Pacific's corporate wellness market is seeing growth driven by increasing awareness among employers. According to research by Transparency Market Research, the market is projected to reach $7.4 billion in value by end-2024, growing at a 9% CAGR from 2016.

In this market, the mental health segment has brought concerns among employers during the ongoing pandemic. To support employees' mental health, one noted player in this space, MindFi, a Singaporean corporate health and wellness platform, recently raised $750,000 in a pre-seed round which will be used to hasten its product development and expansion in key Asian markets.