'Data really is the new oil' - Experts urge users to delete their 23andMe accounts

Record ID: 1985607

  • Title: 'Data really is the new oil' - Experts urge users to delete their 23andMe accounts
  • Date: 24th March 2025
  • Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (MARCH 24, 2025) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) PIERSON FERDINAND LLP, FOUNDING PARTNER, MARYAM MESEHA, SAYING: "If you think about the way that 23andMe essentially made its money, it was through the acquisition or the collection of really sensitive information. Essentially what the company did was it sold home kits to test people's DNAs,
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: 23andMe AncestryDNA CEO Anne Wojcicki DNA testing Joe Selsavage Oprah Winfrey's annual list of favorite things Richard Branson Sergey Brin ancestry testing kits bankruptcy biotech data breach financing
  • Location: VARIOUS
  • City: VARIOUS
  • Country: US
  • Topics: Economic Events,North America,Equities Markets,Editors' Choice
  • Reuters ID: LVA002128124032025RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: 23andMe on Sunday (March 23) filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. after struggling with the fallout of a data breach and weak demand for its ancestry testing kits that featured in Oprah Winfrey's annual list of favorite things just eight years ago.
    The biotech unicorn has seen a sharp fall in its market value since then.
    On Monday (March 24), its shares fell 46% to 96 cents after co-founder and CEO Anne Wojcicki, who made multiple failed takeover bids, also resigned.
    Wojcicki will be replaced by Chief Financial Officer Joe Selsavage on an interim basis.
    In 2021, billionaire Richard Branson's SPAC took 23andMe public at a $3.5 billion valuation. AncestryDNA, which offers similar tests, was also bought by Blackstone Group that same year, despite slowing sales for both genetic testing companies.
    A five-month-long data breach in 2023 that exposed the personal data of nearly 7 million customers, dealt a major blow to 23andMe's reputation. Late last year, it laid off 200 employees and stopped development of all therapies.
    It also agreed to a $30-million settlement in a lawsuit related to the breach.
    Wojcicki has been pushing for a buyout since last April but has been rebuffed by 23andMe's board. She reportedly used her contacts including ex-husband and Google co-founder Sergey Brin to help drive initial investments.
    She intends to make another bid, Wojcicki said in a post on X on Monday, without giving details. Her last offer of 41 cents per share valued 23andMe at about $11 million, below its current value of $50 million, and a far cry from its $6 billion peak in 2021.
    23andMe secured a financing commitment of about $35 million on Sunday and will continue to operate during the sale process. It did not say if it had other buyout offers or interest.
    It listed assets and estimated liabilities between $100 million and $500 million.
    (Production: Aleksandra Michalska)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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