Ching Tan

Ching Tan is the founding managing partner and chairman of the investment committee of CD Capital (辰德资本), a Shanghai-based healthcare investment firm he co-founded in 2013. He brings more than 30 years of combined experience across the healthcare industry and investment management. CD Capital today runs several RMB and USD vehicles totaling roughly RMB 8 billion (about US$1.4 billion in AUM) and has backed 80–90+ companies, concentrated almost entirely in medical technology and life sciences.

Before founding the firm, Tan spent roughly a decade at GE Healthcare in China, rising to Vice President and General Manager of the core imaging business, where he was responsible for CT, MR, digital X-ray, nuclear medicine, molecular imaging, and cardiovascular imaging product lines. Over his GE tenure he held a progression of roles spanning MR R&D engineering, supply-chain management, global CT marketing manager, and General Manager of the CT product division for Greater China — an operating background that grounds his hands-on, technology-first approach to device investing. He also accumulated investment experience earlier in his career at Siguler Guff, Asia Tech VC, and at Booz & Company (Chicago).

Tan studied at Xi'an Jiaotong University before moving to the United States, where he earned an M.S.E. in Biomedical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University and an M.B.A. with honors from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. His co-founding partner, Zhao Ruilin (赵瑞林), holds a Ph.D. from the Harvard–MIT Health Sciences and Technology program and was a former global VP at gene-sequencing leader Illumina — a pairing that reflects the firm's emphasis on deep clinical and engineering domain expertise.

• Specialization over diversification. Tan argues that generalist, cross-industry investors "will become history," and re-oriented CD Capital from a mixed mother-fund/direct model to near-exclusive direct investing in healthcare technology (he describes the shift as roughly a 1:99 tilt toward direct deals).
• Three medtech lanes, no pharma: (1) in-vitro diagnostics — molecular diagnostics and gene testing (he has directed 40%+ of capital here, calling IVD China's largest medtech market, ~hundreds of billions RMB growing ~15%/yr); (2) minimally invasive devices — cardiovascular stents, balloons, valves; (3) digital health — 3D printing and digital applications. He intentionally avoids pharmaceuticals, citing saturation and the team's medtech edge.
• The "sniper" track-selection test. A subsector must have (a) sufficient market size, (b) fast growth, and (c) a technology-disruption opening that lets a company "overtake on the curve."
• Three diligence questions on each deal: Does the innovation actually work technically (clinically-experienced team members test directly)? Can it sell — does the team have channel-building ability? And why is this *CD Capital's* opportunity versus a competitor's?
• "Banyan forest" (榕树林) ecosystem strategy. Tan treats each investment as a seed that spawns synergistic follow-on deals through shared tech, channels, or customers; roughly one-third of the firm's deals were sourced this way (e.g., backing stent-maker Huamai Taike led to artificial-vessel maker Baiyouda).
• Disciplined, opportunistic exits. Stated philosophy: "you cannot be too greedy… once the window opens, don't hesitate." The firm cites a 2014 fund returning ~4x with 2.3x DPI within five years.
• Stated firm credo: "Focus, Excellence and Credibility" (专注、极致、口碑).