Holifya Puts More Data Behind the Obesity Prescription

A €2 million round will fund Holifya's AI models, clinical team and expansion of drug-based obesity care across Italy.

14 Sep 2026

Italy has recognised obesity as a chronic disease, yet treatment remains rare. Milan-based Holifya is betting that a digital clinic, armed with drugs, diagnostics and artificial intelligence, can narrow that gap after raising €2 million on September 1, 2026.

The round combines €1.6 million in equity with €400,000 in debt and grants, taking total funding above €2.5 million. Next Age, the Silver Economy programme within CDP Venture Capital's National Accelerator Network, led the investment alongside Growth Engine, Doorway, 20Fund, Zooga VC and named business angels.

Holifya plans to strengthen its technology and data team, develop proprietary AI models and expand its clinical staff. It will also pursue consumer growth and distribution partnerships across Italy, using a platform that combines behavioural and clinical information with as many as 3,000 genetic, blood-chemistry and medical-history biomarkers for each patient.

The business began elsewhere. Alessandra Cestaro and Marco Brustia founded Holifya in 2021 as a nutrigenetics platform selling at-home DNA tests, then relaunched it in 2023 as a digital clinic offering drug-based obesity treatment.

Cestaro has described "the fundamental role of AI in supporting physicians" as central to the model. The technology sits beside clinical care rather than replacing it, as Holifya expands the team responsible for treating patients.

Parliament's 2025 recognition of obesity as chronic, progressive and relapsing gives that expansion a large potential market. An estimated 11 million Italians qualify for GLP-1 therapy, but fewer than 1% receive treatment, compared with about 2 percent in Germany and more than 4 percent in the UK.

Stefano Molino, head of CDP Venture Capital's accelerator fund, framed the investment around AI's potential to improve the quality and continuity of care. For Holifya, the next test is whether richer patient data can turn that promise into treatment at scale.