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Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
From $6B Valuation to Bankruptcy to Rescue: Wojcicki Reclaims 23andMe for $305M
Anne Wojcicki, co-founder and former CEO of 23andMe, will regain control of the embattled genetic testing company through a $305 million acquisition by her nonprofit TTAM Research Institute, the company announced on Friday. The deal marks the final stage in a bidding contest that began after 23andMe filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March. According to the company, TTAM will acquire substantially all of 23andMe's assets, including its Personal Genome Service, Research Services, and Lemonaid Health, a telehealth subsidiary acquired in 2021. The purchase follows a previous winning bid from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals totaling $256 million, announced in May. However, TTAM submitted a higher unsolicited offer, prompting a reopened auction earlier this month. According to court documents cited by The Wall Street Journal, Regeneron declined to increase its bid, due to the company's remaining valuation. Don't Miss: Maker of the $60,000 foldable home has 3 factory buildings, 600+ houses built, and big plans to solve housing — Peter Thiel turned $1,700 into $5 billion—now accredited investors are eyeing this software company with similar breakout potential. Learn how you can Founded in 2006, 23andMe gained early popularity for its at-home DNA testing kits, which provide customers with insights into their ancestry and potential health risks. The company went public in 2021 through a special purpose acquisition company merger, reaching a peak valuation of nearly $6 billion. But after struggling to create a sustainable subscription model and weathering a 2023 cyberattack that exposed the personal data of nearly 7 million users, 23andMe saw its value decline. The company said it laid off about 40% of its workforce in November and halted therapeutic R&D programs. Wojcicki stepped down as CEO in March, shortly before the bankruptcy filing, to qualify as an independent bidder. Seven independent board members resigned in September, citing concerns over her leadership and privatization efforts. Trending: Maximize saving for your retirement and cut down on taxes: . Although TTAM's $305 million offer has been accepted, the deal is not yet finalized. Approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri is still pending, with a hearing scheduled for June 17, according to Friday's statement. Further complicating the process is a lawsuit filed by 28 state attorneys general led by New York's Letitia James, who say that the sale could violate consumer privacy rights by transferring genetic data without explicit consent. "23andMe cannot auction millions of people's personal genetic information without their consent," James said. According to the Journal, a court-appointed privacy ombudsman said in a report filed last week that he could not conclude the sale of genetic data was consistent with 23andMe's privacy policies. The report also flagged that TTAM's nonprofit status could exempt it from certain data-protection laws, raising further privacy concerns around the deal. During a House Oversight Committee hearing on June 10, interim CEO Joseph Selsavage said that 1.9 million people—about 15% of 23andMe's customers—had requested deletion of their data since the bankruptcy filing."I am thrilled that TTAM Research Institute will be able to continue the mission of 23andMe to help people access, understand, and benefit from the human genome. We believe it is critical that individuals are empowered to have choice and transparency with respect to their genetic data and have the opportunity to continue to learn about their ancestry and health risks as they wish," Wojcicki posted on LinkedIn. In Friday's announcement, TTAM said it would honor 23andMe's existing privacy policies, allowing users to delete their data and opt out of research participation, according to the release. It also plans to establish a Consumer Privacy Advisory Board within 90 days of the deal's closing. Read Next: Image: Shutterstock UNLOCKED: 5 NEW TRADES EVERY WEEK. Click now to get top trade ideas daily, plus unlimited access to cutting-edge tools and strategies to gain an edge in the markets. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? APPLE (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report TESLA (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report This article From $6B Valuation to Bankruptcy to Rescue: Wojcicki Reclaims 23andMe for $305M originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
CNET
3 days ago
- Business
- CNET
23andMe Could Owe You Up to $10,000 After Its Data Breach Settlement
Hackers used a credential stuffing attack to gain access to 23andMe accounts in October 2023. Getty Images/Viva Tung/CNET Users of 23andMe could get paid as much as $10,000, as part of the genetic testing company's massive data breach settlement. 23andMe was struck by a prolonged data breach that allowed hackers to gain personal data for about half of the company's 14 million customers. The company has struggled ever since, filing for bankruptcy in March 2025; it is now being acquired by TTAM Research Institute, a nonprofit being led by 23andMe co-founder Anne Wojcicki, which outbid Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. 23andMe has already started to allow customers to file claims for their shares of the legal settlement related to the data breach. The San Francisco-based company, which allows people to submit genetic materials and get a snapshot of their ancestry, announced in October 2023 that hackers had accessed customer information in a data breach. A January 2024 lawsuit accused the company of not doing enough to protect its customers and not notifying certain customers with Chinese or Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry that their data had been targeted specifically. It later settled the lawsuit for $30 million. "We have executed a settlement agreement for an aggregate cash payment of $30 million to settle all US claims regarding the 2023 credential stuffing security incident," a 23andMe spokesman told CNET. "We continue to believe this settlement is in the best interest of 23andMe customers, and we look forward to finalizing the agreement." A few months after that decision, there's now an official method available to make a claim and potentially get paid by 23andMe, in some cases as much as $10,000. Keep reading to get all the details you need, and for more, find out why T-Mobile settlement checks have been delayed and discover whether you can claim a piece of Apple's Siri privacy settlement. How many people did the 23andMe data breach hit? The settlement could cover roughly 6.9 million 23andMe customers whose data was targeted. To qualify, 23andMe customers must also have been US residents as of Aug. 11, 2023. That 6.9 million number includes around 5.5 million customers of 23andMe's DNA Relatives profiles, which lets people find and connect with genetic relatives. The other 1.4 million people affected by the breach used another service known as Family Tree, which predicts a family tree based on the DNA users share with relatives, 23andMe said. How much money could I get from the settlement? At the top end, 23andMe has said it would pay out up to $10,000 with an "Extraordinary Claim" to each customer who can verify that they suffered hardships as a direct result of their information being stolen in the data breach that resulted in unreimbursed costs. This includes costs from "identity fraud or falsified tax returns," acquiring physical security systems, or receiving mental health treatment. Residents of Alaska, California, Illinois and Oregon who were affected by the data breach can also apply for a payment as part of the proposed settlement, since those states have genetic privacy laws with damages provisions. The payments for these individuals are expected to be around $100, depending on how many people file for them, a settlement document said. Also, a smaller subset of affected users whose personal health information was impacted by the breach will be able to apply for a payment of $100. Infographic: Gianmarco Chumbe/CNET. Photo:Will the 23andMe settlement include anything else? Beyond those payments, 23andMe will also offer impacted users three years of a security monitoring service called Privacy Shield, which filings described as providing "substantial web and dark web monitoring." How can I file a claim for the 23andMe settlement? To file a claim electronically, you can use this official online portal from the Kroll Restructuring Administration. An additional online form is available if you would like proof of your claim sent to you. Potential claimants can also download and print out hard copies of the claim form and proof of claim form if they wish to submit them by mail. If you plan to use this method, send your forms to one of the addresses listed on the claims website. The deadline to make a claim is July 14. For more, you can read about how class-action lawsuits work.
CNET
3 days ago
- Business
- CNET
Can I Delete My 23andMe DNA? Everything to Know as the Genetics Company Gets a New Owner
A data breach raised concerns about the safety of sensitive information with 23andMe. Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images Capping off a dire run of bad news in the last year, 23andMe announced last week that it will be acquired, in a new twist, by a nonprofit called TTAM Research Institute led by 23andMe co-founder Anne Wojcicki. Even with that resolution, the ordeals that the genetic-testing firm has weathered still may have a lot of folks wondering: Can I delete the genetic info that I sent to company? And how exactly can I go about doing that? As we grow increasingly aware of how much of our personal information is gathered across the internet, our genetic information is perhaps the most personal data we could possibly share with anyone, especially commercial ventures. But over 15 million people did just that with 23andMe because of the ancestry-tracking services it offered. These concerns certainly weren't soothed by recent news out of the company. In November, 23andMe announced it would lay off around 40% of its workforce in the wake of a major data leak and ongoing financial and management struggles, including a stock price that plummeted by 70%. Around 6.9 million customers were affected by the data breach, with investigations finding that the hackers responsible for the attack specifically targeted the accounts of people with Chinese or Ashkenazi Jewish heritage, which they spread on the dark web. After all of that, and four years of dwindling sales, 23andMe entered bankruptcy proceedings. At first, a buyer for the company looked to be a pharmaceutical company, Regeneron, which stirred concerns about how the genetic data might be used. Then, in June, in a final round of bidding, TTAM got the green light to acquire 23andMe for $305 million (compared with Regeneron's $256 million offer). "I am thrilled that TTAM Research Institute will be able to continue the mission of 23andMe to help people access, understand and benefit from the human genome," Wojcicki said in a statement. That may not be enough to satisfy privacy-conscious people out there. To get all the details about what you can do with the data 23andMe has from you, keep reading, and for more, find out how much 23andMe will pay out in a class-action settlement and read about the complex relationship between DNA testing companies and privacy. You can also check out CNET's Best DNA Testing services of 2025 list. Can you delete your 23andMe account? Yes. If you used 23andMe for DNA testing, you have the option to delete your account and personal information whenever you choose. A 23andMe spokesperson told CNET that once your request is submitted, the process of deleting data begins "immediately and automatically" and can take about 30 days to complete. But not all your data is deleted in 30 days. In its June 13 press release announcing its acquisition, TTAM said it "will honor 23andMe's existing policies that allow individuals to delete their account and genetic data and opt out of research in perpetuity." It also said all customers will receive an email with details about TTAM's privacy policies and "instructions on how to delete data or opt out of research." What data is deleted after you close your 23andMe account? The answer to this is more complicated. Your 23andMe data will be deleted after you request the deletion of your profile, a company spokesperson told CNET. The process gives you the option to have the company discard your genetic sample, too, if you initially requested that 23andMe store it. And your information will no longer be usable for any of the company's research projects. However, there's more to it than that. "If a customer opted in to 23andMe Research, their Personal Information will no longer be used in any future research projects," the spokesperson said. "Please note, data cannot be removed from research that's already been conducted." Bay Area news site SFGate found that genotyping laboratories that worked on a 23andMe customer's sample will also hold on to the customer's sex, date of birth and genetic information, even after they're "deleted." A 23andMe representative said that by law, labs are required to retain the information for a set period of time -- from two to three years -- after which it will be deleted. The representative also said that this data is retained only by the genotyping lab, not 23andMe itself. If the lab were to be the subject of any sort of breach, the data it retains is anonymous -- it doesn't include a name, address, email, phone number or other contact information -- and the genetic information included is raw and unprocessed. Before you delete your 23andMe account, download your data Before closing your account, consider saving all your 23andMe information first, including your raw genotyping data, your DNA relatives and your ancestry composition. Some of the files can take up to 30 days to prepare, so make a plan for how you want to approach this. Downloading your raw DNA file will let you upload your genetic data to another service for family or ethnicity searches, if you want. Here's how to download your raw genotyping data and related information: Log into your 23andMe account. Head to Settings and in a browser scroll to the bottom and tap View next to 23andMe Data. In the app, scroll to the bottom of Settings and tap Access your data under 23andMe data. Here, you can select which information you want to download before you delete your account. This includes an overview of your 23andMe reports, your ancestry composition raw data, your family tree data and your raw genetic data. Note: These files come through as PDF, TXT, JSON and other formats, and you'll need the appropriate apps to view the data. For your DNA file, 23andMe will send you an email with a link you use to download the data. You can also recreate everything in spreadsheets, as mapped out here, or take screenshots of everything. Some of the downloads come through right away, but some can take 30 days, 23andMe said. How to delete your 23andMe account and data Once you delete your data from 23andMe, unless you've downloaded it first, it's gone, the company warns. Ready? Here's how to delete your data: Head to Settings again, scroll down to 23andMe Data, and tap View. You may be asked to verify your birthdate to continue. If you've already downloaded or otherwise captured all the information you want to keep, scroll to the bottom and tap the Permanently Delete Data button. 23andMe will send you an email asking you to confirm your request. Once you do, the company will begin the deletion process and you will lose access to your account. If you had the company store your genetic samples, it will discard them. For more, find out how 23andMe fares against its main competitor, Ancestry.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Anne Wojcicki's bid to buy back 23andMe may not end legal fight over DNA customer data
Anne Wojcicki's winning bid to reclaim control of 23andMe (MEHCQ) doesn't necessarily end the fight over what happens to the DNA of 15 million people collected by the bankrupt consumer genomics company. A nonprofit controlled by Wojcicki, TTAM Research Institute, has outbid large-cap drugmaker Regeneron (REGN) amid mounting opposition to a proposed sale. Wojcicki was the co-founder and former CEO of 23andMe. A hearing to discuss approval of the purchase is set for Wednesday. A bankruptcy judge's approval is required to go ahead with the transaction. The winning bid came days after members of Congress questioned Wojcicki about the fate of the DNA data. More than half of the states across the country sued 23andMe's bankruptcy estate to stop the sale of its consumers' biological samples, health-related traits, and medical records. On Tuesday, regulators from the UK and Canada fined 23andMe $2.3 million for a data breach in 2023 that exposed DNA on thousands of customers and health, race, gender, and family information on 7 million people. The regulators said they had been in contact with the US Trustee's office that is overseeing 23andMe's bankruptcy. Brian Focht, a data privacy lawyer, said the sensitivity of the data is a good reason for the court and consumers to view TTAM's proposal with caution. "This is information that's immutable. It's a permanent part of your identity," Focht said. "You can't change the way that you can change almost everything, including your Social Security number, your name, and your bank account number." Although TTAM's ownership of the data may resolve some of the privacy concerns, a consumer watchdog report filed with the bankruptcy court last Wednesday said a sale of 23andMe to any buyer, including TTAM, creates unique challenges. That's because it involves the possible transfer of consumer data that is "significantly more sensitive" than consumer data involved in prior bankruptcy cases. While Wojcicki has pledged to effectively run TTAM as the same type of business as 23andMe, Focht noted that she was in charge during that period in 2023, when 23andMe disclosed privacy and cybersecurity lapses. "So it's probably a bit foolishly optimistic to think that her re-takeover of the company will somehow make all the concerns disappear," he said. The bankruptcy court's watchdog expressed the same concern in a report filed Wednesday with the court. Because TTAM is a nonprofit, it said, it could possibly operate outside the scope of many data protection laws, potentially creating a "privacy and security enforcement and accountability vacuum." "That's a legitimate concern," said Gary Kibel, a privacy and data security partner with the law firm Davis+Gilbert, because most state consumer privacy laws do not apply to nonprofit entities. 23andMe did not respond to a request for comment on the proposed bid. The question of 23andMe's right to sell the data has not been tested in court. And because it is a direct-to-consumer company, as opposed to a healthcare provider, the data is not protected by federal laws, such as HIPAA. Nineteen states do have laws that require a company to obtain consent to process sensitive customer information. Some states have adopted stand-alone consumer health data privacy laws that create a higher standard of consent for the transfer of consumer health data to third parties, Kibel said. A regulator could consider whether a transfer of sensitive consumer data complies with those state laws. Outside of those state rules, Kibel said, every state has "UDAAP" laws that protect consumers against unfair or deceptive acts and practices. The US Federal Trade Commission has made it clear that bankruptcy does not automatically entitle a company to transfer consumers' personal information. Last week, 28 state attorneys general and the attorney general for the District of Columbia filed complaints in 23andMe's bankruptcy case claiming that the company's assets don't include its consumers' DNA and other personal information. And that's especially for those who signed agreements with the company prior to June 8, 2022, when terms stated that "23andMe will not sell, lease, or rent your individual-level information to a third party for research purposes without your explicit consent," the states alleged. 23andMe later amended its privacy policy to include the transfer of consumer data in the event of a bankruptcy. The privacy lawyers said that whether the policy change holds up under a challenge would depend on whether or not state law prohibits it. Daniel Gielchinsky, a bankruptcy lawyer with DGIM Law, said, "In light of the [watchdog's] report and the objections filed by the various states, it is likely that the bankruptcy court would not give [TTAM] the same rights in the data that 23andMe currently has." Another wrinkle for the bankruptcy court, according to Focht, is that the state law that applies to each of 23andMe's consumers depends on where they currently live and not where they lived at the time they consented to 23andMe's terms. The watchdog's report raised a third concern over TTAM's purchase of 23andMe. It said the company's telemedicine subsidiary, Lemonaid Health, would potentially be included in a sale, and the relationship between the companies could prove complicated given the "evolving legal landscape for personal health records and the sensitivity with health data." Lawmakers have expressed concern that foreign nations could gain access to Americans' genetic data. In 2015, 23andMe accepted a $10 million investment from WuXi Healthcare Ventures, which had ties to the Chinese Communist Party. The company has since been bought by Frontline BioVentures, which formed a new healthcare investment venture known as 6 Dimensions Capital. During testimony before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, Wojcicki promised that 23andMe would not sell customers' DNA data to foreign adversaries, specifically China, Russia, and North Korea. Uttara Ananthakrishnan, a professor of information systems at Carnegie Mellon University, said use of genetic data should be held to a higher level of consent than the consent required for other data, such as credit scores, search data, and location data. "I don't think people have realized the seriousness of this all, because it's really novel," Ananthakrishnan said. "Thirty years down the line, we don't know what's going to happen with this data, what kind of new technologies are going to come in. You might have [an AI model] trained on really granular genetic data that can predict job outcomes, insurance." But Kibel said, "Maybe this spurs Congress to realize, 'You know what? We need a federal comprehensive consumer privacy law, because we don't have one.'" Alexis Keenan is a legal reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow Alexis on X @alexiskweed. Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest stock market news and events moving stock prices
BBC News
4 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
UK watchdog fines 23andMe for 'profoundly damaging' data breach
DNA testing firm 23andMe has been fined £2.31m by a UK watchdog over a data breach in 2023 which affected thousands of Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said the company - which has since filed for bankruptcy - failed to put adequate measures in place to secure sensitive user data prior to the incident."This was a profoundly damaging breach that exposed sensitive personal information, family histories, and even health conditions," said Information Commissioner John Edwards.23andMe is set to be sold to a new owner, TTAM Research Institute, which said it had "made several binding commitments to enhance protections for customer data and privacy." 23andMe's users were targeted by what is known as a "credential stuffing" attack in October 2023. This saw hackers use passwords exposed in previous breaches to access 23andMe accounts for which people had used the same or similar were able to access 14,000 individual accounts - and, through those, download information relating to about 6.9m people linked to as possible relations on the to the ICO, this included access to personal data belonging to 155,592 UK residents, such as names, year of birth, geographical information, profile images, race, ethnicity, health reports and family data did not include DNA records."As one of those impacted told us: once this information is out there, it cannot be changed or reissued like a password or credit card number," said Mr Edwards. Due to its more sensitive nature, genetic data is considered special category data under UK data protection law and requires further protections and controlling it should consider having additional security measures in place to help secure it, according to the ICO's investigation - launched along with Canada's privacy commissioner last June - found that 23andMe breached UK data protection law by not having appropriate authentication and verification measures for customers during its login included not having mandatory multi-factor authentication to allow users logging in to verify themselves through additional means or company also did not have secure password requirements or more verification requirements for users trying to download raw genetic data, it Edwards said such failures and delays in resolving them "left people's most sensitive data vulnerable to exploitation and harm"."Their security systems were inadequate, the warning signs were there, and the company was slow to respond," he company says it resolved the issues identified during the ICO and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC)'s probe by the end of watchdogs recently called on 23andMe to protect the sensitive personal data of its customers amid its bankruptcy company was initially set to be sold to biotechnology company Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in a $256m 23andMe said on Friday it had agreed to the sale of its assets to TTAM Research Institute - a non-profit biotech organisation led by its co-founder and former chief executive Anne said the purchase of the company for a new price of $305m would come with binding commitments to uphold existing policies and consumer protections, such as letting customers delete their accounts, genetic data and opt out of research.A bankruptcy court is scheduled to hear the case for its approval on Wednesday.
