23andMe, the pioneering consumer genomics firm, became the latest startup casualty to exercise its Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection options Sunday night in Missouri federal court. This announcement comes at the same time as the resignation of CEO Anne Wojcicki, who is still expected to stay on as a board member. The company went public in 2021 through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company. Since then, it has continued to struggle under the weight of financial insolvency and staunch data breaches.
23andMe, founded in 2006, found almost immediate success with their at-home DNA testing kits. These direct-to-consumer kits promise their customers intriguing revelations about their ancestral pasts and genetic futures. The company’s valuation maxed out at approximately $3.5 billion at its merger in 2021. For the past several years, the company’s stock has crashed.
23andMe has found it increasingly difficult to maintain reliable streams of recurring revenues and build out its research and therapeutics arms. The corporation lists its assets and liabilities as between $100 million and $500 million on each pole, respectively.
The firm’s ever-growing genetic database has come under fire for privacy reasons, especially after it suffered a security breach on October 2023. Compromise of sensitive information for almost 7 million customers by hackers to the breach, adding insult to injury.
As I think about the future, I will continue to tirelessly advocate for customers to have choice and transparency with respect to their personal data, regardless of platform. - Anne Wojcicki
As of Monday morning, 23andMe’s market cap is around $25 million.
There is no doubt that the challenges faced by 23andMe through an evolving business model have been real, but my belief in the company and its future is unwavering. - Anne Wojcicki
