Strategic health investors back digital therapeutics for cognitive decline
Europe’s digital health sector is witnessing a quiet but significant shift in investor appetite, with growing capital flows towards therapeutic applications that address chronic neurological conditions — an area historically underserved by both pharmaceutical innovation and venture funding. As populations across the continent age and healthcare systems strain under the weight of dementia-related costs, digital therapeutics platforms that can deliver clinically validated interventions at scale are attracting attention from a new class of strategic health investors.
Five Lives, the Franco-British healthtech startup developing digital therapies for dementia prevention and cognitive decline, has raised €1.7 million from strategic investors Open CNP (the investment arm of French insurance group CNP Assurances), 50 Partners, and Family Ventures. The company is supplementing the round with a crowdfunding campaign on Sowefund, targeting an additional €300,000 to €500,000. Combined with previous rounds totalling over €3 million from investors including Headline, Speedinvest, and Boost Capital, Five Lives has now secured approximately €5 million in total funding.
From prevention to treatment: a dual-product strategy
Founded in 2019 by CEO Xavier Louis, Five Lives has evolved from a consumer-facing brain health app into a clinically validated digital therapeutics platform operating across two distinct product lines. The original Five Lives Mental Health Prevention app targets at-risk individuals without a clinical diagnosis, offering personalised lifestyle guidance across five evidence-based pillars: physical exercise, cognitive stimulation, nutrition, sleep, and social engagement.
In January 2026, the company launched Five Lives Care, a prescription-grade therapeutic application designed specifically for patients with mild cognitive impairment — the clinical stage that often precedes Alzheimer’s disease. The app includes over 500 adapted exercise videos, memory and attention training games, and AI-powered personalised treatment sessions. Within its first two months, Five Lives Care has enrolled 5,000 patients, demonstrating strong early adoption in a market where treatment options for early-stage cognitive decline remain severely limited.
“When diagnosed with Alzheimer today, patients go home with no meaningful medical perspective,” Xavier Louis has noted, highlighting the therapeutic gap that Five Lives aims to address. The company’s approach draws on accumulating clinical evidence that lifestyle interventions can meaningfully slow cognitive decline when delivered early and consistently.
Clinical validation underpins reimbursement strategy
The strength of Five Lives’ positioning lies in its clinical evidence base. A randomised controlled trial conducted across seven hospitals — five in the United Kingdom and two in France (Broca Hospital in Paris and La Timone in Marseille) — involving 180 patients demonstrated significant improvements in executive function and quality of life within three months of using the platform. The new funding will partially finance a second clinical trial, designed to strengthen the company’s case for healthcare reimbursement — a critical milestone that would unlock substantially larger market access.
The reimbursement pathway is central to Five Lives’ revenue model. While the consumer app operates on a subscription basis at approximately €30 per month, the clinical product commands a reimbursement rate of €135 per month. Securing formal reimbursement approval, which the company is targeting for 2027, would transform its unit economics and addressable market. Five Lives projects revenues of €1 million in 2026, rising to €5 to €10 million in 2027 if reimbursement is achieved, with a longer-term ambition of reaching €100 million in annual revenue and 500,000 patients by 2030.
A growing European digital therapeutics market
The investment by Open CNP is strategically significant. As the investment vehicle of CNP Assurances, one of France’s largest insurance groups, its participation signals that major health insurers are beginning to view digital therapeutics as a viable complement to traditional care pathways — and a potential tool for reducing the long-term costs associated with dementia, which currently represent one of the largest financial burdens on European healthcare systems.
Five Lives’ commercial expansion is focused on three markets: France, the United Kingdom, and the United States, with the new capital supporting customer acquisition and AI integration to further personalise treatment protocols. With over 200,000 cumulative app downloads and a growing clinical evidence base, the company is building the foundation for a platform that could scale across Europe’s fragmented but increasingly receptive digital health landscape.
Summary
Company: Five Lives
HQ: France / United Kingdom
Founded: 2019
Round: Funding round
Amount: €1.7 million (+ up to €500k crowdfunding)
Investors: Open CNP (CNP Assurances), 50 Partners, Family Ventures
Use of Funds: Commercial expansion (France, UK, US), second clinical trial, AI integration for personalised treatment