NEW YORK (AP) — 23andMe has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and its co-founder and CEO has resigned as the struggling genetic testing company continues its push to cut costs.
San Francisco-based 23andMe announced on Sunday that it will look to sell “substantially all of its assets” through a court-approved reorganization plan.
Anne Wojcicki, who co-founded 23andMe nearly two decades ago, is also stepping down as CEO effective immediately, the company said — but will remain on the 23andMe board. Her resignation comes just weeks after a board committee rejected a nonbinding acquisition proposal from Wojcicki, who has been trying to take the company private.
And Wojcicki intends to still bid on 23andMe as the company pursues a sale through the bankruptcy process. In a statement on social media, Wojcicki said that she resigned as CEO to be “in the best position" as an independent bidder.
“There is no doubt that the challenges faced by 23andMe through an evolving business model have been real, but my belief in the company and its future is unwavering,” she later added.
23andMe has faced an uncertain future for some time. Beyond battles to go private, the company struggled to find a profitable business model since going public in 2021. Privacy concerns related to customers' genetic information have also emerged, notably spanning from a 2023 data breach — along with questions around what new ownership could mean for users' data.
Here's what to know.
23andMe was founded in 2006, with a promise to revolutionize the future of genetics and health care. The company became known for its saliva-based DNA testing kits — purchased by millions of customers eager to learn more about their ancestry — and later dived further into health research and drug development.
But recent years have been far from smooth sailing for 23andMe. And Sunday's voluntary bankruptcy filing caps months of turmoil.
Last September, all of its independent directors resigned in a rare move following acquisition negotiations with Wojcicki.
The company then announced in November that it would lay off 40% of its workforce, or more than 200 employees, and discontinue its therapeutics division. And in January, the board’s special committee said it was exploring strategic alternatives, including a possible sale.
Shares of 23andMe Holding Co. have shed nearly all their value since last spring — and plunged even farther after Sunday's bankruptcy filing, trading at under $1 as of midday Monday.
In recent securities filings, 23andMe continued to warn about its “ability to continue as a going concern” — which is accounting-speak for having the resources needed to operate and stay in business.
Sunday's Chapter 11 filing from 23andMe reported total debts of more than $214.7 million as of the end of last year. Assets, meanwhile, amounted to over $277.4 million.
23andMe says that filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection will help facilitate a sale of the company, meaning that it's seeking new ownership.
In a statement Sunday, Board Chair Mark Jensen said that this court-supervised process was “the best path forward.” He added they also expect it to help 23andMe’s efforts to cut costs as well as resolve legal and leasehold liabilities.
23andMe is looking to pull back from its real estate footprint. Among motions filed on Sunday, the company is seeking court approval to reject lease contracts in San Francisco and Sunnyvale, California, for example, in efforts to help cut down on expenses.
Otherwise, 23andMe says it plans to continue operating. The company says it's received $35 million in debtor-in-possession financing from JMB Capital Partners to help support its business throughout the bankruptcy process.
23andMe says its bankruptcy filing won’t change the way it stores or protects data. Jensen, the board chair, said Sunday that 23andMe is “committed to continuing to safeguard customer data” and that data privacy will be “an important consideration” in any future sale.
John Bringardner of Debtwire notes that any new buyer of 23andMe will have to comply with regulatory approvals that ensure “customer data won’t end up in unscrupulous hands.”
Still, who will end up owning 23andMe down the road is unknown. And experts note that risks remain.
“Personal data collected by 23andme has always been at risk,” Bringardner wrote in emailed commentary on Monday — pointing particularly to a 2023 data breach that compromised ancestral information for nearly 7 million 23andMe customers. He adds that litigation spanning from the aftermath of this breach helped drive up liabilities that eventually contributed to the current bankruptcy filing.
Last year, 23andMe agreed to pay $30 million in cash to settle a class-action lawsuit accusing the company of failing to protect customers whose personal information was exposed in this breach. On Sunday, the company said that it plans to use bankruptcy proceedings to “resolve all outstanding legal liabilities" stemming from the October 2023 incident.
Beyond this data breach, uncertainty about the company's future overall has also led some to recently urge 23andMe customers to delete their data.
On Friday, days before 23andMe's bankruptcy filing, California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued an urgent alert reminding 23andMe customers of their legal rights under state law — and called on them to consider deleting and destroying any genetic data held by the company. Bonta's office pointed to 23andMe's ongoing financial distress and “trove of sensitive consumer data” the company has amassed.
AP Health Writer Tom Murphy contributed to this report from Indianapolis.
FILE - 23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki speaks at an announcement for the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences at Genentech Hall on UCSF's Mission Bay campus in San Francisco, Feb. 20 2013. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
Republican Sen. Roger Wicker, chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he and Sen. Jack Reed, the committee’s top Democrat, will request an inspector general investigation into the use of Signal by top national security officials to discuss military plans. Wicker’s move is notable given the Trump administration’s defiance that no classified information was posted to the Signal chat.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA director John Ratcliffe were questioned before Congress about how a journalist was added to a group chat in which they discussed American military strikes in Yemen. Democrats called on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who shared in the group chat the exact timings of warplane launches and when bombs would drop, to resign over the exposure.
The Supreme Court is hearing a new test of federal power in a major legal fight over $8 billion in annual subsidies for phone and internet services in schools, libraries and rural areas.
And people in Greenland appear cautiously relieved that Vice President JD Vance and his wife will limit their Friday trip to a U.S. military base, rather than appear uninvited at a public event.
Here's the Latest:
The so-called X-date is when the country runs short of money to pay its bills.
Without another deal between lawmakers and the White House, the government will exhaust the accounting maneuvers used to stretch existing funds by August, the Congressional Budget Office reported Wednesday.
The House added $4 trillion to the debt ceiling in the Republican budget plan, which sets the stage for extending tax cuts passed in Trump’s first term. Whether the Republican-led Senate will agree remains unclear.
“Democrats are ready to work across the aisle to prevent a catastrophic default. But Republicans must work with us to protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid,” said Rep. Brendan Boyle, the ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee.
Sen. Roger Wicker said he and Sen. Jack Reed, the committee’s top Democrat, will send a letter to the Trump administration requesting an Inspector General investigation into the use of Signal by top national security officials to discuss military plans.
Wicker is also calling for a classified Senate briefing from a top national security official and verification that The Atlantic published an accurate transcript of the Signal chat.
Wicker’s move is notable given the Trump administration’s defiance. Most Republicans seem content to allow the episode to blow over. Asked what the consequences for Hegseth should be, Wicker said, “Let’s see.”
He added that the administration — “right up to the president” — should take a conciliatory approach to the episode.
Wednesday’s filing seeks approval to go ahead with cuts of hundreds of millions of dollars for teacher training.
A federal judge in Boston temporarily blocked the cuts, finding they were already impacting a nationwide teacher shortage. Eight Democratic-led states challenged Trump’s efforts to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs as his administration follows his executive order calling for the dismantling of the Education Department.
The Justice Department has filed three other emergency appeals of court rulings that blocked administration actions.
The Supreme Court has yet to rule on whether to narrow nationwide holds on executive actions as Trump seeks to restrict birthright citizenship. Also pending is an appeal to halt an order requiring the rehiring of thousands of federal workers.
The questioning of John Ratcliffe descended into yelling as a California Democrat asked the CIA director whether Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was drinking when he used the Signal app to text his plans for attacking Houthis in Yemen.
“I think that’s an offensive line of questioning,” Ratcliffe told Rep. Jimmy Gomez. “The answer is no.”
Ratcliffe and Gomez then began shouting over each other as Gomez tried to follow up.
“We want to know if his performance is compromised,” Gomez said.
“It is completely outrageous to me that administration officials come before us today with impunity, no acceptance of responsibility,” said Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado. He said Pete Hegseth “must resign immediately. There can be no fixes, there can be no corrections until there is accountability.”
Other Democrats on House Intelligence Committee rejected assertions by Gabbard and Ratcliffe that no classified material was included in the chat. They pointed chat messages released by The Atlantic on Wednesday as evidence the exposure could have jeopardized the mission’s success or endangered U.S. service members’ lives.
“This is classified information. It’s a weapon system, as well as a sequence of strikes, as well as details of the operations,” said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois. “He needs to resign immediately.”
Asked if he thinks they’re “eager” to become American citizens, Trump said he didn’t know “but I think we have to do it, and we have to convince them.”
Trump repeated in an interview Wednesday on “The Vince Show” that the U.S. needs control of Greenland for national security reasons. His pronouncements have irked residents of the semi-autonomous Danish territory.
Vance and his wife, Usha, are scheduled Friday to visit a U.S. military base on the Arctic island.
Now chairwoman of the House Oversight Committee, the Georgia Republican summoned the leaders of PBS and NPR to a hearing, demanding to know why taxpayers funded what she considers biased news resembling content from communist China.
Trump suggested Tuesday that public funding for PBS and NPR be cut off.
NPR chief Katherine Maher says the radio network is making progress in presenting different viewpoints on the air.
Gabbard acknowledged before the House Intelligence Committee that the texts contained “candid and sensitive” discussions but said again that no classified information was included.
“It was a mistake that a reporter was inadvertently added,” Gabbard said.
National security adviser Mike Waltz has taken responsibility for the addition of The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief to the chat, which also included the defense secretary, the vice president and other top Trump administration officials.
Democrats blasted it as a sloppy mistake that could have put American service members at risk.
Texts released by The Atlantic on Wednesday referred to the timing of strikes and the types of weaponry involved.
Tulsi Gabbard and John Ratcliffe face more questioning about how Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg was added to a group chat in which they discussed American military strikes in Yemen.
Gabbard, Ratcliffe, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, national security adviser Michael Waltz and other top national security officials were on the chat, which included the times of warplane launches and other actions.
Waltz has taken responsibility. Trump called it “a glitch.” Democrats said it was an irresponsible security lapse that could require resignations.
Republican Rep. Rick Crawford urged his fellow House Intelligence Committee members not to focus on the Signal chat leak during Wednesday’s hearing on global threats.
“It’s my sincere hope that we use this hearing to discuss the many foreign threats facing our nation,” Crawford said in opening remarks.
Dr. Jay Bhattacharya passed a 53-47 party-line vote to become director of the the National Institutes of Health.
The Stanford University health economist, an outspoken critic of COVID-19 policies, has vowed to encourage scientific dissent. He now leads the world’s top funder of biomedical research as Trump drastically reduces its funding and workforce.
Dr. Marty Makary won over a handful of Democrats in a 56-44 vote to become commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates drugs, medical devices and food safety.
The Johns Hopkins University researcher also has contrarian views, and like the health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has criticized food additives, ultraprocessed foods and the overprescribing of drugs.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and top Senate Democrats on the national security committees want answers from Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other officials as the Signal app fallout deepens, questioning whether the actions violate the Espionage Act.
“We write to you with extreme alarm about the astonishingly poor judgment shown by your Cabinet and national security advisors,” the senators wrote in a letter to the president.
“Our committees have serious questions,” they wrote, detailing a 10-part probing line of inquiry.
The senators noted that if any other American military servicemember or official committed such breach “they would be investigated and likely prosecuted.”
▶ Read more on the Signal text chat fallout
The legislature voted overwhelmingly in favor after Democratic Gov. Matt Meyer urged quick passage amid pressure from corporate leaders about court precedents governing conflicts of interest.
Elon Musk encouraged a “Dexit” after Tesla shareholder complaints led a judge to invalidate his compensation package potentially worth more than $55 billion.
Critics warned it will harm investors, pensioners and middle-class savers by making it harder to hold corporate insiders accountable for violating their fiduciary duties.
Delaware is the legal home of more than 2 million corporate entities, including two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies. State Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton warned against “cooking that golden goose.”
▶ Read more about how Delaware’s loosening of corporate accountability
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin says the victory means state House Democrats “can stand up to Trump’s mayhem in Washington.”
Democrat Dan Goughnour handily won Tuesday's special election, keeping majority control by a single seat, 102-101. He beat Republican Chuck Davis in the Pittsburgh-area district. This removes a potential barrier to Gov. Josh Shapiro, a rising star among Democrats who is seen as a potential 2028 presidential candidate.
Martin’s statement says the victory will block efforts to weaken Shapiro’s authority and “continue to expand job opportunities, strengthen schools and create safe communities in Pennsylvania.”
▶ Read more on the Pennsylvania race’s impact
The Atlantic released the entire Signal chat between Trump senior national security officials on Wednesday, showing that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth provided the exact times of war plane launches through the unclassified communications app — before the men and women flying those attacks on behalf of the United States were airborne.
The revelation follows two intense days where Trump’s senior most cabinet members of his intelligence and defense agencies have squirmed to explain how details — which current and former U.S. officials have said would have been classified — wound up on an unclassified Signal chat that included Atlantic editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg.
Hegseth has refused to say whether he posted classified information onto Signal. He is traveling in the Indo-Pacific and to date has only said he did not reveal “war plans.”
▶ Read more on related developments as Trump officials face House questioning
When Trump canceled $400 million in funding to Columbia University over its handling of student protests against Israel’s war in Gaza, much of the financial pain fell on researchers a train ride away from the school’s campus, working on things like curing cancer and studying COVID-19’s impact on children.
The urgency of salvaging ongoing research projects at the university’s labs and world-renowned medical center was one factor in Columbia’s decision last week to bow to the Republican administration’s unprecedented demands for changes in university policy as a condition of getting funding restored.
The university’s decision to accede to nearly all of the Trump administration’s demands outraged some faculty members, who say Columbia has sacrificed academic freedom. The American Association of University Professors and the American Federation of Teachers, representing members of Columbia’s faculty, filed a lawsuit Tuesday saying the funding revocation violated free speech laws.
Scientific and medical researchers are appalled that their work was drawn into the debate to begin with.
▶ Read more about the impact on researchers at Columbia
Greenland and Denmark appeared cautiously relieved early Wednesday by the news that Vance and his wife are changing their itinerary for their visit to Greenland Friday, reducing the likelihood that they will cross paths with residents angered by the Trump administration’s attempts to annex the vast Arctic island, a semi-autonomous Danish territory.
The couple will now visit the U.S. Space Force outpost at Pituffik, on the northwest coast of Greenland, instead of Usha Vance’s previously announced solo trip to the Avannaata Qimussersu dogsled race in Sisimiut.
The vice president’s decision to visit a U.S. military base in Greenland has removed the risk of violating potential diplomatic taboos by sending a delegation to another country without an official invitation. But Vance has also criticized longstanding European allies for relying on military support from the United States, openly antagonizing partners in ways that have generated concerns about the reliability of the U.S.
▶ Read more about the vice president’s trip to Greenland
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with the so-called “Big 6” group at U.S. Treasury Tuesday
The group includes White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, House Majority Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith.
A Treasury readout of the meeting states that the group discussed permanently extending the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
“I am dedicated to working with Congress in making permanent President Trump’s historic tax cuts and reviving the American dream,” Bessent said in a statement. “Today’s productive meeting gives me confidence that a swift timeframe is achievable.“
Trump’s executive order seeking broad changes to how elections are run in the U.S. is vast in scope and holds the potential to reorder the voting landscape across the country, even as it faces almost certain litigation.
He wants to require voters to show proof that they are U.S. citizens before they can register for federal elections, count only mail or absentee ballots received by Election Day, set new rules for voting equipment and prohibit non-U.S. citizens from being able to donate in certain elections.
A basic question underlying the sweeping actions he signed Tuesday: Can he do it, given that the Constitution gives wide leeway to the states to develop their own election procedures? Here are some of the main points of the executive order and questions it raises.
▶ Read more about Trump’s executive order on elections
Environmental Protection Agency employees take part in a national march against actions taken by the Trump administration, Tuesday, March 25, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
FILE - Vice President JD Vance leaves after speaking at the Congressional Cities Conference of the National League of Cities on Monday, March 10, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, file)
President Donald Trump waves as he departs a reception celebrating Greek Independence Day in the East Room of the White House, Monday, March 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
