23andMe, the genetic testing company that asked millions of people to spit into test tubes to learn they’re 2% Neanderthal, announced on Sunday that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and is up for sale.
The company also announced that CEO Anne Wojcicki has stepped down—replaced by Chief Financial and Accounting Officer Joe Selsavage on an interim basis—though she will remain a member of the board.
It’s a shocking fall for a public company that once boasted a $6 billion valuation in 2021—despite never making a profit. As of Friday, it was worth $50 million, and on Monday, shares for the consumer genetic testing pioneer fell 50% to 88 cents, Reuters reported.
Wojcicki previously proposed making the company private, but a special committee rejected the pitch.
Since its founding in 2006, more than 15 million people submitted their saliva samples to find out their ancestry and other genetic information, according to an open letter on the company’s website. But its fall came in part because, well, you only really need to do a genetic test once—it’s not likely there’d be many repeat customers.
Plus, questions emerged about where participants’ genetic data was going. In 2023, hackers exposed the personal data of nearly 7 million 23andMe customers, raising concerns about privacy and sending test kit sales down further, the New York Times reported.
The company plans to use the bankruptcy to “resolve all outstanding legal liabilities” from the incident, it said Sunday.
Meanwhile, Wojcicki hasn’t given up on trying to reclaim the company she helped build—this time, as an independent bidder, she said on Linkedin.
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