Han Yusheng, a Chinese entrepreneur with a background in biology, established Burning Rock to promote the early diagnosis and treatment of cancer, especially lung cancer, using next-generation sequencing-based diagnostics in 2014 with the help of venture capital firms including Sequoia Capital China.

Mr Han was an early mover in what has become among the hottest areas in venture capital: biotech. Last year, such start-ups, broadly defined, raised almost $40bn, while their financiers invested almost $12bn in the sector, according to data from McKinsey. While venture capital inflows into other tech sectors have slowed, $32bn has been raised and $7.8bn invested in biotech in the first half of the year, suggesting 2018 will break last year’s record, the investment bank

China Renaissance in Beijing calculates. International private equity firms such as