23andMe, one of the “leading human genetics and biotechnology companies,” announced that it has filed for bankruptcy.
On Sunday, March 23, 23andMe Holding Co. announced it started voluntarily filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, according to a press release.
“After a thorough evaluation of strategic alternatives, we have determined that a court-supervised sale process is the best path forward to maximize the value of the business,” Mark Jensen, chair and member of the company’s Special Committee of the Board of Directors, said in a statement.
23andMe is looking to “sell substantially all of its assets” and is seeking authorization from the court to do so, according to the press release.
In addition to helping its employees throughout the transition, 23andMe is also “committed to continuing to safeguard customer data and being transparent about the management of user data going forward,” Jensen stated. “Data privacy will be an important consideration in any potential transaction.”
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The company’s stock fell by 46% on Monday, reported Reuters.
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23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki resigns
The announcement of the bankruptcy comes the same day as the company’s CEO, Anne Wojcicki, resigned.
Wojcicki was replaced in the interim by Chief Financial Officer Joe Selsavage, according to Reuters.
The former CEO attempted multiple takeover bids, but each failed.
23andMe class action lawsuit
In September 2024, just six months before 23andMe filed for bankruptcy, the company agreed to pay $30 million in a settlement after a class-action lawsuit was brought against the company for a 2023 data breach that affected 6.9 million users.
The lawsuit accused the company of failing to protect users’ personal information and neglecting to notify users of the breach.
In the breach, the following user information was compromised:
- Account information
- Location
- Ancestry reports
- DNA matches
- Family names
- Profile pictures
- Birthdates
This article was updated to add more information.
Contributing: Reuters, Mary Walrath-Holdridge, Jim Sergent, Jonathan Limehouse, Fernando Cervantes Jr.; USA TODAY
Julia is a trending reporter for USA TODAY. You can connect with her on LinkedIn, follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, Instagram and TikTok: @juliamariegz, or email her at [email protected]
