Bari, 27 February 2025

Lilac-Centro DCA, a digital health tech start-up formed by a network of professionals for the multidisciplinary treatment of anorexia, bulimia, binge eating and other eating disorders, closed a total funding round of 693,000 euro consisting of a 560,000 euro follow-on investment and a 133,000 euro SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) conversion. Key actors in the round were Personae, the welfare programme of CDP Venture Capital’s National Accelerator Network, and SocialFare Seed. Sullivan Venture, Generaimprese and Milano Venture completed the investment. Strategic contributions included the participation of Marta Basso, entrepreneur and digital marketing expert, and Sergio Liscia, business angel and VP & General Manager of Legal Software at Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory.

Founded in Bari in 2023 by Giuseppe Magistrale and Filippo Perotto as the evolution of a network of professionals active since 2020, Lilac-Centro DCA was established – the first such organisation in Italy – with the aim of creating an innovative model for the treatment of eating disorders, combining psychological and nutritional support with advanced technological tools, accompanying patients through recovery with customised multidisciplinary care, both online and in person.

The funds raised in this round will be used for the expansion of services nationwide, boosting the accessibility of treatment, strengthening the network of professionals – psychologists, nutritionists and health professionals – and developing the AI-driven platform for the personalised treatment of eating disorders. With this investment Lilac aims to bridge the existing gap, offering millions of Italians suffering from eating disorders access to specialised, personalised care.

"These new resources will be crucial to help us grow further and be able to provide even more support to our patients – commented Giuseppe Magistrale, co-founder and CEO of Lilac-Centro DCA – and to build an ecosystem of digital therapy and integrated care that can guarantee continuous support to people at every stage of the treatment process. Currently – Magistrale underscored – we employ more than 60 psychologists and dieticians specialised in psychotherapy and trained in eating disorders, with more than 6,000 requests for treatment and a community of more than 160,000 members. But there is still much to be done. We can’t forget that eating disorders afflict over 55 million people worldwide, 3 million of them in Italy alone."

"We are pleased to have participated in this follow-on through the Personae programme, the Welfare accelerator of the National Accelerators Network of CDP Venture Capital – said Stefano Molino, Senior Partner and Manager of CDP Venture Capital’s Accelerators Fund – Eating disorders are a great challenge for our society, and the solution proposed by Lilac aims to network professionals in the sector using a digital tool. Thanks to this investment the company will be able to continue the development of the platform and technology and offer support throughout Italy".

"SocialFare Seed's participation in this follow-on confirms our focus on investing in innovative solutions to social challenges that are important to people: Centro DCA was able to develop a value proposition confirmed by growing data, reinforcing our thesis of investing in social value that generates economic value", explained Laura Orestano, Chair of SocialFare Seed.