Genetic testing company 23andMe has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Missouri federal court, leaving one question on everyone&#8217;s minds: what happens to all the DNA it collected?
The company was once valued at more than $6 billion thanks to its at-home DNA testing kits allowing customers to gain insight into their ancestry and genetic profiles, CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/24/23andme-files-for-bankruptcy-anne-wojcicki-steps-down-as-ceo.html">reported</a>. In 2021, the company went public and was valued at $3.5 billion. But soon after, its stock began to fall as it failed to continue to find viable recurring revenue. It currently has a market capitalization of just $25 million, CNBC reported.
The company made clear that the bankruptcy filing would not change how it stores or manages the data it has received from customers, but there are concerns that the bankruptcy filing could mean that customer DNA profiles are sold to the highest bidder. The Harvard Gazette published a <a href="https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2025/03/what-happens-to-your-genetic-data-if-23andme-collapses/">report</a> recently discussing these exact concerns and noted that certain laws protecting health information would not be covered since 23andMe is not a hospital or physician. The company has already shared customer data with service providers and contractors.
They did note, however, that in “some instances, bankruptcy law had required a consumer privacy ombudsperson to investigate a sale and determine whether it’s keeping with the bankrupt company’s privacy statements, as well as the law,” meaning customer data could be protected.
In September 2024, 23andMe <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/cybersecurity/23andme-settles-data-breach-lawsuit-30-million-2024-09-13/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">settled a lawsuit</a> accusing it of failing to protect customer data after 6.9 million users&#8217; personal information was exposed during a data breach.
The once billion-dollar company has struggled in recent years to generate recurring revenue and build lasting research and therapeutics businesses, CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/24/23andme-files-for-bankruptcy-anne-wojcicki-steps-down-as-ceo.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Early Monday morning, company CEO and co-founder Anne Wojcicki announced she was resigning from her executive role but would remain on the company’s board.
“The 23andMe Special Committee released news today indicating their plan to take the company through the Chapter 11 process,” Wojcicki wrote on X. “While I am disappointed that we have come to this conclusion and my bid was rejected, I am supportive of the company and I intend to be a bidder. I have resigned as CEO of the company so I can be in the best position to pursue the company as an independent bidder.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The 23andMe Special Committee released news today indicating their plan to take the company through the Chapter 11 process. While I am disappointed that we have come to this conclusion and my bid was rejected, I am supportive of the company and I intend to be a bidder. I have…
— Anne Wojcicki (@annewoj23) <a href="https://twitter.com/annewoj23/status/1904036140077969563?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 24, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Last March, the company formed a committee to come up with solutions. Wojcicki devised several proposals to take the company private but was rejected.
Chapter 11 bankruptcy doesn’t require the liquidation of assets, but 23andMe’s bankruptcy proposal <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.moeb.462638/gov.uscourts.moeb.462638.1.0.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">filed</a> with the court includes a plan to sell off company assets. The plan calls for the company to “actively solicit qualified” bids over a 45-day process, CNBC reported. In her note on X, however, Wojcicki said she was looking to secure the assets herself.
“If I am fortunate enough to secure the company’s assets through the restructuring process, I remain committed to our long-term vision of being a global leader in genetics and establishing genetics as a fundamental part of healthcare ecosystems worldwide,” she wrote.
The company has between $100 million and $500 million in estimated assets, but between the same amount in estimated liabilities, per the <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.moeb.462638/gov.uscourts.moeb.462638.1.0.pdf">bankruptcy filing</a>.

23andMe

23andMe Is Going Bankrupt. What Happens To All The DNA Samples?

23andMe Is Going Bankrupt – What Happens To All The DNA Samples?

bankruptcy

Genes

Science

U.S.

Genetic testing firm 23andMe confirmed Monday that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/cyberattack" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hackers</a> were able to access the data of 6.9 million users, about half the company&#8217;s customer base.
The California-based company said hackers accessed 5.5 million profiles that were using a feature called DNA Relatives, which allows people to find genetic relatives. Hackers were also able to access family tree information from another 1.4 million DNA Relatives profiles.
In some cases, the hackers gained access to users&#8217; ancestry reports, zip codes, and birth years, 23andMe said.
“23andMe has completed its investigation, assisted by third-party forensics experts. We are in the process of notifying affected customers, as required by law,” the company <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/addressing-data-security-concerns" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement posted Saturday evening to 23andMe&#8217;s website.
“We have taken steps to further protect customer data, including requiring all existing customers to reset their password and requiring two-step verification for all new and existing customers,” the company said.
Last week, 23andMe said hackers had accessed data from about 14,000 users or 0.1% of its customers.
In order to pull off the data breach, the hackers reused old usernames and passwords from other websites that had already been compromised, a tactic known as credential stuffing.
&#8220;We have taken steps to further protect customer data, including requiring all existing customers to reset their password and requiring two-step verification for all new and existing customers,&#8221; a company spokesperson <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/fox-news-tech/23andme-confirms-hackers-accessed-data-6-9-million-users" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Fox Business.
The company also <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/04/us/23andme-hack-data.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on Monday that it has not learned of “any reports of inappropriate use of the data after the leak.”
In October, profile information from 23andMe customers reportedly started showing up on a dark web forum used by hackers.
The company is currently <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/04/us/23andme-hack-data.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">working</a> on notifying all customers who were affected by the breach, as required by law, although the timeline for when everyone will have been notified is not clear.
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1700760801843000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2PQrVSrJfhxNb4LcARqniG">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
Critics have warned against providing such personal information to companies, saying it can always be stolen.
“Should we be providing data that is so personal and so intimate to an organization that, largely speaking, only has a strong allegiance to their investors and their boards?” Ramesh Srinivasan, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles department of information studies, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/04/us/23andme-hack-data.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">remarked</a> to The New York Times.
23andMe is not the first firm to have a major data breach.
Last month, Okta, an identity management firm, admitted that a data breach was worse than expected. Hackers likely stole data from all recent users of Okta&#8217;s Help Center service, the company <a href="https://www.cpomagazine.com/cyber-security/okta-customer-support-security-breach-update-all-clients-using-help-center-impacted-contact-info-for-all-certified-users-stolen/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.

In this photo illustration, the 23andMe logo is displayed on

23andMe Says Hackers Accessed Data Of Nearly 7 Million Users

23andMe Says Hackers Stole Data Of Nearly 7 Million Users

Business

California

Crime

Cyberattack

Cybersecurity

A group of scientists at Cardiff University have revealed <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11958713/New-hope-breakthrough-Alzheimers-treatment-20-years-scientists-uncover-92-genes.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stunning information</a> that could lead to life-changing treatment for sufferers of the most common form of Alzheimer’s disease in the next 15 years.
The research by the scientific team started in 2009, and in 2022 they announced they had found three genes that led to the disease. But now they have announced discovering 92 more genes.
“By 2040 I think we&#8217;ll be in the position to offer a range of treatments and we might not know exactly why, but one of them will be able to act on the huge range of causes,” Professor Julie Williams, the Cardiff Dementia Centre&#8217;s director, stated.
“Once you know where to start looking then you can study the effects which genes have on specific brain activity,” Williams said. “Things are speeding up and improving all the time. I&#8217;ve learnt more in the last seven years than I did in the previous 20. Tests which cost millions in the 90s can be carried out for around £30.”
&#8220;For example,” she told the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-65166225" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BBC</a>, “we now know that defective genes changing the way immune cells called microglia work. These are the bin lorries of the brain clearing away what they see as rubbish. They may be less efficient at clearing genuine rubbish and mistakenly kill off healthy brain cells, including synapses. Of course synapses are the connections between neurons, so if they get eliminated when they shouldn&#8217;t then you lose connections, you lose thought, you lose memories.”
Williams acknowledged that various therapies would be needed to combat the constellation of problems the disease represents.
Last year, Professor Tara Spires-Jones of the University of Edinburgh said that within ten years, a drug may be available that would limit the suffering of Alzheimer’s patients to initial mild confusion, asserting, “I am wary of using the word cure, which is a very strong word, but I think we will have a disease-modifying drug within 10 years. That is a drug which can stop Alzheimer&#8217;s disease in its tracks, or even &#8211; although this is less likely &#8211; reverse it once it has started.”
“I know all these decades of research can seem disheartening, when there is still no drug for Alzheimer&#8217;s, but game-changing, miracle drugs have been found for other brain diseases, and one is coming for this one,” she added.
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1681313451267000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3nO3EKGAEUHbjXmJbALLTd">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
Last July, a new computer program was announced that could enable researchers to <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220711163210.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">diagnose Alzheimer&#8217;s disease much earlier</a> so that it can be treated much earlier after its onset.
Boston University researchers, using audio recordings from neuropsychological interviews with 1,000 people, used speech recognition tools that enabled computers to transcribe the recordings and then translate them into numbers. The chances of cognitive impairment were then determined by those numbers, demographic data, and diagnoses from neurologists and neuropsychologists.
“This approach brings us one step closer to early intervention,” said Ioannis Paschalidis, a co-author on the paper. “It can form the basis of an online tool that could reach everyone and could increase the number of people who get screened early.”

Menu

Genes

23andMe Is Going Bankrupt. What Happens To All The DNA Samples?

23andMe Says Hackers Accessed Data Of Nearly 7 Million Users

New Gene Discovery Predicted To Yield Life-Changing Alzheimer’s Treatment