Feed: Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
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Title: 23andMe founder Anne Wojcicki will regain control of embattled DNA
company after all

Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2025 21:45:34 +0000
Link: https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/23andme-fou...

In a surprise twist, 23andMe founder and former CEO Anne Wojcicki is set to
regain control of the DNA company's assets, according to a press release from
23andMe. In May, a company called Regeneron bought 23andMe for $256 million
in a bankruptcy auction, but Wojcicki's nonprofit, TTAM Research Institute,
was able to reopen bidding with an "unsolicited offer" of $305 million, The
Wall Street Journal reports.

A bankruptcy judge agreed to reopen bidding on 23andMe under the condition
that Regeneron top Wojcicki's proposed price by at least $10 million,
according to WSJ. Regeneron declined, leaving 23andMe in TTAM's control
assuming the judge approves the deal. A hearing to consider the new deal is
set for June 17, 2025.

Regeneron had previously planned to keep on all of the company's employees
and continue offering consumer DNA testing kits. Besides answering customers'
questions about their ancestry, 23andMe's genetic data is valuable as a way
to identify possible health risks, and in the case of Regeneron, as a tool
for identifying drug targets.

It's not completely clear what Wojcicki intends to do next, but 23andMe's
announcement includes a list of customer data and privacy protections TTAM
Research Institute has agreed to, including continuing to allow customers to
delete their data and opt-out of research, establishing a Consumer Privacy
Advocacy Board and promising to "not sell or transfer genetic data" in the
event of another bankruptcy ΓÇö unless the buyer agrees to the same privacy
protections.

Maintaining control of the company's assets has been Wojcicki's plan since
23andMe declared bankruptcy in March 2025. She originally resigned as the
company's CEO to make a bid on the company.

"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 says. "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."

23andMe had a turbulent few years prior to declaring bankruptcy, suffering a
data breach in 2023 that impacted millions of customers and mass layoffs in
2024 that affected 40 percent of the company's staff.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-
tech/23andme-founder-anne-wojciki-will-regain-control-of-embattled-dna-
company-after-all-214534016.html?src=rss

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