23andMe

23andMe Holding Co.
Company typePublic
Nasdaq: ME
Industry
FoundedApril 2006; 18 years ago (2006-04)
Founders
Headquarters
South San Francisco, California
,
United States
Key people
Products
Services
RevenueDecrease US$192 million (2024)
Decrease US$−681 million (2024)
Decrease US$−666 million (2024)
Total assetsDecrease US$395 million (2024)
Total equityDecrease US$189 million (2024)
Number of employees
582 (2024)
Website23andme.com
Footnotes / references
Financials as of March 31, 2024.[1]

23andMe Holding Co. is an American personal genomics and biotechnology company based in South San Francisco, California.[1] It is best known for providing a direct-to-consumer genetic testing service in which customers provide a saliva sample that is laboratory analysed, using single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping,[2] to generate reports relating to the customer's ancestry and genetic predispositions to health-related topics. The company's name is derived from the 23 pairs of chromosomes in a diploid human cell.[3]

Founded in 2006, 23andMe soon became the first company to begin offering autosomal DNA testing for ancestry, which all other major companies now use.[4] Its saliva-based direct-to-consumer genetic testing business was named "Invention of the Year" by Time in 2008.[5][6]

The company had a previously fraught relationship with the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) due to its genetic health tests; as of October 2015, DNA tests ordered in the US include a revised health component, per FDA approval.[7][8] 23andMe has been selling a product with both ancestry and health-related components in Canada since October 2014,[9][10][11] and in the UK since December 2014.[12]

23andMe became a publicly traded company, via a merger with a Special Purpose Aquisition Company (SPAC) in 2021 and soon had a market capitalization of US$6 billion.[13] By 2024, its valuation had fallen to 2% of that peak.[13] On September 17, 2024, all seven independent directors of the company resigned, voicing concerns about the strategic direction of the company and Wojcicki's stated intention to take the company private.[14][15]

  1. ^ a b "23andMe Holding Co. Fiscal 2024 Annual Report (Form 10-K)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. May 30, 2024.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Wired2007 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Fact Sheet". 23andMe. Archived from the original on January 19, 2013. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
  4. ^ "Autosomal SNP comparison chart - ISOGG Wiki". isogg.org. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Time was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Janzen, Tim; et al. "Family Tree DNA Learning Center". Autosomal DNA testing comparison chart. Gene by Gene.
  7. ^ Herper, Matthew (December 5, 2013). "23andMe Stops Offering Genetic Tests Related to Health". Forbes. Archived from the original on February 9, 2014. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  8. ^ Pollack, Andrew (October 21, 2015). "23andMe Will Resume Giving Users Health Data". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  9. ^ Ubelacker, Sheryl (October 1, 2014). "U.S. company launches genetic health and ancestry info service in Canada". Winnipeg Free Press. The Canadian Press. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  10. ^ Hansen, Darah (October 2, 2014). "5Q: Anne Wojcicki, CEO 23andMe on knowing your DNA data (and being married to the boss of Google)". Yahoo Finance Canada. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  11. ^ "23andme genetic testing service raises ethical questions". CBC News. October 2, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  12. ^ Roberts, Michelle; Rincon, Paul (December 2, 2014). "Controversial DNA test comes to UK". BBC News. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
  13. ^ a b Winkler, Rolfe (January 31, 2024). "23andMe's Fall From $6 Billion to Nearly $0". Wall Street Journal.
  14. ^ Morrow, Allison (September 20, 2024). "What happened to 23andMe?". CNN Business. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
  15. ^ Winkler, Rolfe (September 17, 2024). "23andMe Board Resigns in New Blow to DNA-Testing Company". Wall Street Journal.