From Shanghai to the World: How United Imaging is taking on Global Healthcare – AI First

What does it look like when a company produces 6,000MRI scanners per year, has installed over 32,000 systems worldwide, runs its own AI company with 1,300 people and believes their mission is nothing less than equal health for all?In this episode of MedMile Uncut, host Florian Forsting travels to Shanghai, to the most impressive setting in the history of this podcast. Inside United Imaging Healthcare's showroom, surrounded by 5T MRI systems, PET/CTs and surgical robots, he sits down with Steve Tan, Co-CEO, and John Bao, President of United Imaging Healthcare. It's their very first podcast ever.Founded in 2011, listed on the stock exchange in 2022with a market cap of around $20 billion, and now with more than 8,000 employees and factories on three continents – UIH is arguably the most important medical imaging company most people in Europe have never heard of. That's about tochange.In this episode, explored what it really means to build a medicaltechnology company from the ground up, driven not by market logic alone, but by a genuine belief in equal health for all. Our guests shared why they left the security of established US healthcare giants for a start-up in Shanghai, and why, looking back, they wouldn't change a thing. We talked about UIH's earlybet on AI long before the hype, what full stack, full spectrum AI actually looks like inside a clinical device, and the story behind their 5T MRI, a machine that fits in the same room as a 3T and skipped 7T entirely for good reason. We heard why usability, not technology, is the real enemy of innovation in MedTech, and why hiring hundreds of fresh graduates every year isn't a risk but a strategy. And we looked ahead at what AI will mean for radiology over the next decade: not replacing doctors, but bringing the radiologist closer to the patient. With over 4,450 installations across Europe and 20,000 in China serving as a global learning ground, UIH is playing a long game, and they'replaying it on their own terms. If there's one thing to take away, it's the advice both leaders left us with: stay hungry, stay open-minded, and always be willing to adapt.Disclaimer United Imaging Healthcare:The views and information shared in this podcast are those of the individual speakers and are for general informational purposes only. Any figures, descriptions, or references to company performance mentioned may vary depending on context, region, or organizational entity and do not constitute official company disclosures, financial results, or product claims by United Imaging Healthcare. For verified information, please refer to official United Imaging publications and reports.