After years of promising to revolutionize health and ancestry tracking, Gene testing firm 23andMe is officially out of steam — and now it’s officially backing down and declaring bankruptcy.
Here is everything you need to know, especially if you have used the company’s services.
23andMe Files for Bankruptcy
On Sunday, the once-hyped genetic testing company announced it’s filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Co-founder and CEO Anne Wojcicki also said she’s stepping down — but plans to buy the company’s assets herself. In a statement, 23andMe said the move was part of a plan to “strengthen its financial position.”
Data Breach Fallout Didn’t Help
One of the reasons that pushed things over the edge was the massive data breach in 2023 that exposed personal info from nearly 7 million users. The breach resulted in a class-action lawsuit, a $30 million settlement,and a major trust problem the company never fully recovered from.
Customers Are Being Told to Delete Their DNA Data
California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta has already advised customers to think about deleting their data from the site, which says a lot about how fragile the whole situation is. “There’s health insurance companies that are interested in this data, there’s life insurance companies that are interested in this data,” Bonta told ABC News7 on Monday.
Bonta also issued a consumer alert with instructions on how users can remove both their digital data and request destruction of their physical DNA samples.
What Happens to All That DNA Now?
That’s the big question. With a potential sale ahead, there are growing concerns about who might end up owning the sensitive genetic data of more than 15 million customers. 23andMe says data privacy will still be protected, 23andMe board chair Mark Jensen said in a statement that “data privacy will be an important consideration in any potential transaction.”
For more news like this, please sign up for our free newsletters.
