Wojcicki Fights to Reclaim 23andMe After Its Fall

​23andMe—once hailed as the company that would revolutionize healthcare—has officially filed for bankruptcy after burning through over $1 billion, laying off more than half its workforce, and watching its valuation collapse from over $6 billion to nearly zero. But co-founder and former CEO Anne Wojcicki isn’t walking away.

Even after her supervoting shares were wiped out, Wojcicki has vowed to buy back the company she built, despite having two takeover bids already rejected by two separate boards of directors.

What Went Wrong?
Wojcicki’s vision extended far beyond ancestry tests. She tried to pivot the company toward drug development and personalized healthcare, betting that 23andMe’s vast trove of genetic data could transform medicine.

But the strategy proved costly and unprofitable. After acquiring telehealth company Lemonaid Health for $400 million and launching a subscription service called 23andMe+, the company failed to generate the recurring revenue it needed to stay afloat.

By 2023, 23andMe had gone through multiple layoffs, its stock fell below $1, and cash was running out.

From SPAC Stardom to Bankruptcy Court
23andMe went public via SPAC in 2021 to much fanfare, briefly hitting a valuation of $6 billion. But interest in at-home DNA testing faded, and Wojcicki’s expensive ambitions outpaced results.

Even a personal push to buy the company back failed—twice. The board rejected both of her offers, and then resigned en masse over disagreements with her direction.

In a final act, Wojcicki installed a new board and paid its members $800,000—just two weeks before laying off 40% of the company’s staff. Five months later, that board also rejected her offer of $0.41 a share.

The Personal Toll and Legacy
Wojcicki’s push to retake the company came during a deeply personal crisis—her sister Susan Wojcicki, former YouTube CEO, was hospitalized with terminal cancer. Susan passed away just a week after Anne’s first bid was rejected.

Despite the personal and professional setbacks, Anne Wojcicki remains committed to the original vision: empowering people with access to their own genetic data.

As she put it, “23andMe pioneered something radically different, to put the individual in direct control of important information about themselves”.

What Happens Next?
23andMe is now in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, its Sunnyvale headquarters nearly empty, its assets—including a massive database of customer DNA—up for grabs. Wojcicki is still a potential buyer, but this time she’s just one of many, with no special voting rights left.

Meanwhile, the company’s data privacy practices are under scrutiny, with the California attorney general warning consumers about their rights to delete genetic information.

The woman who once said 23andMe could be “bigger than Google” is now fighting to buy back the remnants of a company she helped build—from the bankruptcy court.
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