23andMe pivots to nonprofit

Anne Wojcicki is rebuilding 23andMe as a nonprofit after bankruptcy, recasting the DNA-testing company as a genetics research platform. (observer.com) A bankruptcy court approved the sale of 23andMe to Wojcicki’s TTAM Research Institute for $305 million on July 1, 2025, after TTAM outbid Regeneron’s earlier $256 million offer. The assets included 23andMe’s Personal Genome Service, Research Services business and Lemonaid Health. (abcnews.com, cnbc.com) 23andMe had filed for Chapter 11 on March 23, 2025, saying it would keep operating while it pursued a court-supervised sale. The company said at the time that the filing did not change how it stored, managed or protected customer data. (23andme.com) The business being rebuilt is not just a kit seller. 23andMe’s own filings said its revenue came from consumer DNA kits, paid memberships, telehealth and research services, and Wojcicki told Observer the nonprofit structure now puts the scientific side at the center. (sec.gov, observer.com) That shift follows a long collapse in trust. At its 2021 public-market peak, 23andMe was valued at about $6 billion; by the time it filed for bankruptcy, Observer said its market value had fallen to roughly $20 million. (cnbc.com, observer.com) The biggest break came after a 2023 cyberattack. A court-authorized settlement site says the breach exposed personal information tied to about 6.4 million U.S. residents, while Observer reported that nearly 7 million users were affected globally. (23andmedatasettlement.com, observer.com) The fallout reached the boardroom. All seven independent directors resigned on Sept. 17, 2024, and their public letter said they disagreed with Wojcicki over the company’s direction and plans to take it private. (23andme.com, cnbc.com) The sale also drew opposition from state officials. In June 2025, 27 states and the District of Columbia sued in bankruptcy court to try to block the transfer of customers’ genetic data without fresh consent. (nbcnews.com, abcnews.com) Wojcicki said the nonprofit model is meant to answer that fear. She told Observer that TTAM’s structure would keep the data tied to a medical-research mission and, if the organization shut down, require the assets to pass to another nonprofit with a similar purpose. (observer.com) 23andMe became famous by mailing people saliva kits and returning ancestry and health reports. Its second life depends on whether customers who bought that service will trust the same company to hold their DNA for research over the long term. (cnbc.com, observer.com)