DNA testing company 23andMe filed for bankruptcy on Sunday after struggling with the fallout from a significant data breach and weak demand for its ancestry testing kits, which once gained widespread attention, including being featured in Oprah Winfrey's annual list of favorite things.
The company has seen a sharp decline in market value, and its shares plummeted 46% to 96 cents on Monday, following the resignation of co-founder and CEO Anne Wojcicki.
Wojcicki's departure comes after several unsuccessful attempts to secure a buyout, with the company’s board rebuffing her efforts. She had previously sought investments from contacts, including her ex-husband Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google. On an interim basis, Chief Financial Officer Joe Selsavage will take over as CEO.
23andMe, which went public in 2021 at a $3.5 billion valuation through a merger with Richard Branson's SPAC, had faced stiff competition from other genetic testing firms like AncestryDNA, which was acquired by Blackstone Group. However, despite being a major player in the genetic testing market, the company experienced slowing sales and a damaging data breach in 2023 that exposed personal data from nearly 7 million customers. This breach contributed to a significant blow to its reputation, compounded by layoffs and a cessation of its therapy development programs.
In addition to the data breach, 23andMe reached a $30 million settlement in a lawsuit related to the incident. The company is now in the process of selling itself, having secured $35 million in financing on Sunday. However, the future of the company remains uncertain as it operates under bankruptcy protection while seeking potential buyers. It listed assets and liabilities between $100 million and $500 million.
Leaders of Iran, Israel, and the United States reiterated their determination to press on with the conflict on Friday (13 March), as the Middle Eas...
KPop Demon Hunter fans listen up, Netflix has announced a follow-up to the hit movie! Director Maggie Khan says shes excited to show the world what...
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stori...
Ayman Ghazali, a 41-year-old U.S. citizen born in Lebanon, crashed his truck into the hallway of a Detroit-area synag...
Balendra Shah is set to become Nepal's prime minister after winning a landslide in the country's 2026 elections. The election comes after a...
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 13rd of March, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Ayman Ghazali, a 41-year-old U.S. citizen born in Lebanon, crashed his truck into the hallway of a Detroit-area synagogue on Thursday (12 March) while children attended preschool. Security personnel shot him dead during the confrontation, and authorities said no one else was seriously injured.
Iran should continue “blocking the Strait of Hormuz,” while the U.S. should “shut” its Middle East military bases, new Iranian Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, said on Thursday in his first speech since being elected. He is still yet to appear in public, and a broadcaster read out his words.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has set recognition of Tehran’s inalienable rights, payment of war compensation, and international guarantees against any future invasion as conditions for ending the U.S.–Israel war with the Islamic Republic.
The U.S. should shut down its military bases in the Middle East, Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on Thursday (12 March). His words were read out by a broadcaster on state Iranian television.
More than 68,000 children in eastern Afghanistan have been displaced after clashes between Afghan and Pakistani forces intensified along the border, according to a new report by Save the Children.
Georgia has cancelled international tenders for the construction of major road sections that form part of a regional highway linking the country with the borders of Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Norwegian police apprehended three brothers suspected of carrying out Sunday's (8 March) bombing at the U.S. embassy in Oslo, in an attack investigators have branded an act of terrorism.
“Get ready for oil to be $200 a barrel," a spokesman for the Iranian Army warned the world on Wednesday (11 March), as attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz escalated. Meanwhile, 32 countries agreed to the largest ever release of oil reserves in an attempt to reduce prices.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 13rd of March, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Ayman Ghazali, a 41-year-old U.S. citizen born in Lebanon, crashed his truck into the hallway of a Detroit-area synagogue on Thursday (12 March) while children attended preschool. Security personnel shot him dead during the confrontation, and authorities said no one else was seriously injured.
Balendra Shah is set to become Nepal's prime minister after winning a landslide in the country's 2026 elections. The election comes after a GenZ-led protest in which dozens died in September last year, helped to overthrow the government
Although against international humanitarian war, targeting desalination plants and other key locations is increasingly being used as a way of making an opponent weaker in battle. Water-related violent events have increased rapidly since 2022.
Freight transport on the China–Europe Railway Express grew strongly in the first two months of 2026, highlighting the growing importance of rail links between Asia and Europe. The network moved about 352,000 shipping containers between January and February, a 25% increase from a year earlier.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment