{"id":57782,"date":"2025-03-24T20:17:04","date_gmt":"2025-03-24T20:17:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2025\/03\/24\/23andme-goes-bankrupt-as-few-subscribe-to-gene-testing\/"},"modified":"2025-03-24T20:17:04","modified_gmt":"2025-03-24T20:17:04","slug":"23andme-goes-bankrupt-as-few-subscribe-to-gene-testing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2025\/03\/24\/23andme-goes-bankrupt-as-few-subscribe-to-gene-testing\/","title":{"rendered":"23andMe goes bankrupt as few subscribe to gene testing"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Despite collecting DNA from saliva samples from more than 15 million customers, the company hasn\u2019t been profitable since going public in 2021. That personal information can now be sold as part of a court-supervised auction, 23andMe said in a filing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In the years before it raised US$600 million from shareholders, the company spent heavily to draw in users with a goal of hitting 10 million customers, according to a 2021 investor presentation. But the company struggled to turn single-transaction customers into reliable \u2014 and profitable \u2014 subscribers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe often \u2018one-time\u2019 nature of sales involving the company\u2019s saliva collection kits resulted in a shrinking customer base and declining topline revenues,\u201d chief restructuring officer Matthew Kvarda said.<\/p>\n

Today, 550,000 customers pay for the company\u2019s two primary services, Kvarda said in a court filing. Those services produced 76 per cent of revenues during the latest fiscal year, which ended March 31, 2024.<\/p>\n

Silicon Valley-based 23andMe will continue marketing itself to investors, aiming to get at least one binding offer by May 7, according to court papers. That deadline was set by lenders, who are seeking court permission to loan 23andMe as much as US$35 million to fund its bankruptcy.<\/p>\n

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The Chapter 11 filing in St. Louis will also resolve legal troubles related to a data breach in 2023, according to a statement. That hack compromised information about roughly seven million customers, including giving a hacker direct access to about 14,000 user accounts. The company faces about 35,000 claims related to the incident.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The company plans to continue operating throughout the sales process, it said.<\/p>\n

The bankruptcy is the latest chapter in the saga of the DNA testing company valued at US$3.5 billion when it went public. Wojcicki\u2019s efforts to take the struggling company private were rejected by a committee earlier this month.<\/p>\n

23andMe has US$277.4 million in assets and US$214.7 million in liabilities, court documents show. It received a debtor-in-possession financing commitment of as much as US$35 million from JMB Capital Partners, according to the statement.<\/p>\n

That loan must be approved by the judge overseeing the case. The debt, if approved, carries a 14 per cent interest rate and would pay a two per cent commitment fee, a six per cent exit fee and a US$100,000 work fee.<\/p>\n

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