Allergies and food intolerances impact close to 40% of people worldwide, yet conventional testing methods remain prohibitively expensive, slow, and hard to access. Many patients face long waiting periods and must pay between €200 and €400 per test, often making an accurate diagnosis out of reach.
Lithuanian digital health startup Self.co offers a more affordable choice, providing molecular allergy and intolerance tests priced between €69 and €99, delivering quick and reliable results through its digital health platform.
Tautvydas Gylys, co-founder and CEO of Self.co, said, “Millions of people live with allergy-like symptoms but without a real understanding of what’s causing them or what to do about it. We’ve taken advanced diagnostic technology and built a simple test system that gives anyone clear, medically valid answers without the high cost or long wait.”
The company just secured €2.56 million in funding, a mix of €1.2 million led by Iron Wolf Capital, joined by Coinvest, NGL Ventures, and several angel investors, and a €1.36 million government grant from Innovation Agency Lithuania, to fuel its expansion into new European markets and improve its testing technology.
Providing affordable and smarter diagnostics
Founded in 2015 by Gintautas Gylys and Tautvydas Gylys, Self.co was born out of a desire to make allergy diagnostics accessible to everyone and to empower people to better understand and manage their health.
Tautvydas told TFN, “The company was born out of both our personal frustration with the state of the industry, and the fact that it also represented a significant market gap. My dad and co-founder, Gintautas Gylys, ran an allergy clinic and lab, and saw that existing tests were inaccurate and prohibitively expensive. His background in biosciences led him to develop a molecular allergy test in-house. Later, I joined him to turn that laboratory innovation into an accessible digital service”
Self.co’s technology is its microarray platform, developed in collaboration with allergists and laboratory experts. It can detect over 300 allergens and food markers from a small blood sample, which patients can provide at home or in partner clinics. The process achieves molecular-level precision, complemented by advanced AI algorithms that synthesise medical data and expert input to create thorough, personalised reports complete with avoidance strategies and treatment recommendations.
Direct competitors in the allergy testing space include traditional providers like ALK-Abelló and Thermo Fisher Scientific, which offer skin prick tests and ImmunoCAP blood tests, respectively. On the digital health front, companies such as EverlyWell and 23andMe offer home testing kits that include some allergy-related panels, but typically with less comprehensive allergen coverage.
Self.co removes middlemen and offers lab-grade accuracy at a fraction of the usual price, setting it apart from competitors who rely on slower, costlier, or less comprehensive testing by managing every step, from technology development to laboratory analysis.
What’s next?
Looking forward, Self.co plans to grow its platform into a full-fledged digital health ecosystem. The startup also aims to become Europe’s top digital platform for allergy diagnosis and management by 2030, changing how millions live with allergies and food intolerances.
Tautvydas concludes, “We’re also launching a smart questionnaire to help people identify what’s really behind their symptoms and choose the right tests. In the next few years, we’ll add more conditions like lactose or histamine intolerance, roll out our own dry-blood collection device, and build partnerships with insurers. Long term, our goal is to become the first stop for anyone dealing with allergy-like symptoms.”
Kasparas Jurgelionis, Managing Partner at Iron Wolf Capital, says: “Self.co’s platform addresses long-standing pain points for patients and clinicians, positioning the company to redefine allergy care globally. We’re proud to lead this round and support their mission to deliver meaningful healthcare innovation at scale.”
