Remember the article, Regeneron Wins Bid for Bankrupt 23andMe – Wedding Planned?
Well, guess what – that arranged marriage got called off before the wedding. Now 23andMe has made up with their founder, but under a different name – and they are getting married.
Does this sound like a soap opera to you? That’s because it is.
Ok, so what’s happening?
Anne Wojcicki, 23andMe’s founder, took 23andMe public in 2021, and received stock shares worth 1.3 billion dollars – that’s billion with a B.
The company experienced severe financial difficulty, including a massive data breach in 2023, followed by lawsuits. Anne tried to buy the shares back, in essence, trying to take 23andMe private again, for $42 million, just pennies on the dollar. The board of directors rejected her offer, citing several concerns, then resigned en masse in September of 2024. Think of this as “the divorce” in the soap opera.
Stock prices continued to plummet, and the company filed for bankruptcy protection from its creditors in March of 2025. Wojcicki then stepped down as the CEO.
In May 2025, Anne founded the nonprofit TTAM Research Institute (is TTAM a wink and a nod to 23andMe?), about which little is known.
The assets of 23andMe were put on the auction block, and pharmaceutical company Regeneron won the sealed bidding at $256 million. TTAM had submited a bid of $146 million.
After Regeneron won the bid in June, TTAM apparently said, “woah there, I have a bigger engagement ring and I can do better,” and the bidding was reopened. Frankly, that surprised me, but the entire point of a bankruptcy sale is to maximize the sale price and terms for the creditors and investors. I guess this would be equivalent of shopping for the largest dowry.
TTAM then offered $305 million, and Regeneron declined to best their offer.
Now, the bankruptcy court has authorized the sale of 23andMe to TTAM for $305 million, barring complications. Which might include the neighbor showing up with another cow and some chickens.
So, yes, Anne is positioned to purchase the company back, just under a different name.
The following email was sent to 23andMe customers from the company overseeing the bankruptcy. Unfortunately, this email has been relegated to the spam filter for many people, so if this applies to you and you did not receive the email, here are the contents in their entirety.
This message is for current customers of 23andMe – if you are a former customer or a customer who has deleted your information, please disregard this notice.
On June 27, 2025, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri approved the proposed purchase of all of the assets of 23andMe by TTAM Research Institute (“TTAM”), and we anticipate that the sale will close on or as soon as reasonably practicable after July 8, 2025.
TTAM is a nonprofit medical research organization founded by Anne Wojcicki (Co-Founder and former CEO of 23andMe). TTAM’s charitable mission is to continue the innovative research and scientific discoveries that were core to 23andMe, while expanding its active conduct of medical research and educational activities to empower individuals to learn about their own genomes and advance our knowledge of human health.
Customer privacy is at the core of TTAM’s mission of helping individuals gain insight into, and benefit from, their genetic information. TTAM is committed to adhering to 23andMe’s existing privacy policies of always honoring customers with choice and transparency. To see your individual privacy settings you can click here.
We have seen how important genetic information is to all of our lives and we are committed to continuing to serve our customers, deliver meaningful genetic insights to them and the broader community and expand medical research that unlocks the power of human genetics.
We plan to continue providing the same types of products and services 23andMe has provided and we also look forward to expanding the innovative research and scientific discoveries that were core to 23andMe, now as a nonprofit research institution with a mission of collecting and analyzing genetic data on an unprecedented scale in pursuit of education, medical research and scientific discovery for the benefit of all.
What this means for you:
No action is required by you. Your account and personal data remain intact and will continue to be safeguarded under 23andMe’s privacy commitments to you. Your personal information has not been physically or electronically moved from the control of 23andMe. TTAM is legally obligated to maintain and honor the privacy policies, user consents, and data protection measures that have been put in place by 23andMe. TTAM will be operating with the same employees and privacy protocols that have protected your data and is committed to continuous improvement of those policies. You will continue to be able to exercise your choices on how your data and collected samples are used, including opting into or out of research and deleting your account by going to Account Settings and clicking the “Permanently Delete Data” button. If you have any issues, you can contact customercare@23andme.com for further assistance. If you have previously chosen to delete your data, no further action is necessary.
Looking Ahead
We are incredibly excited to build on 23andMe’s legacy. 23andMe pioneered the ability for individuals to learn valuable genetic insights and to contribute to advancing our knowledge of human genetics. TTAM, as a non-profit dedicated to education and the active conduct of medical research, will be best positioned to accelerate our understanding of genetics, empower individuals through knowledge and advance research that benefits all.
My Commentary
I have really mixed feelings about this sale, and I don’t even pretend to know what is “best,” and best for whom. Investors, creditors, customers, genealogists, Anne – I don’t know. Every entity has different interests in the outcome.
Anne’s leadership is what caused this fiasco in the first place. 23andMe increasingly ignored genealogy and genealogists. Her passion has always been medical testing and research. Given that she will be back at the helm as soon as the check clears, assuming everything goes well during the brief engagement, I imagine it will be back to “business as usual” at 23andMe.
But business as usual is what got them where they are today, so something in their business model has to change.
Right now, I sure wish we knew more about TTAM. Is it just a holding company created so Anne could repurchase 23andMe, or is there more? Who is on the board? What are the nonprofit’s goals, and how do existing 23andMe customers fit in? Do they have a business plan, or IS this the businss plan? Why did Anne form this company instead of submitting a private offer? Was it the tax advantage of donating to the nonprofit, in order for the nonprofit to purchase 23andMe, or is there another reason? I’m assuming that the bankruptcy court had these same questions, and they were answered satisfactorily.
The good news in all of this is that if this sale goes through, 23andMe won’t be dismantled, and the remaining genealogical features that survived the changes made after the data breach can still be enjoyed.
If? What do I mean by “if”?
Not everyone is happy with this sale, and at least five states have concerns and are still actively opposed, according to NPR reporting.
So, yes, 23andMe is now betrothed again, to her original partner who changed their name, and nuptials are being planned. Will 23andMe actually get married this time, and will it take the new married name? Genealogists want to know these things!
Regeneron is yesterday’s news – but we might not have seen the last episode in this series. Is there another suitor in the wings?
Is someone going to step forward and object at the last minute?
“Speak now or forever hold your peace.”
Apparently, that “last minute” is midnight on July 7th. Anyone opposed to the sale has until then to apply to the court to grant a stay.
Stay tuned. They aren’t married yet!
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The worst news in your review is that five states want to interfere. Government interference has been at the root of all the problems 23andMe has endured over the years. I still don’t understand why the “data breach” is such a big deal. I hope the genealogical features of 23andMe are restored. That is all I care about.
Interesting assessment. Thank you for you observations and insights.
I got the e-mail. You ask many excellent questions, but I was relieved that I will at least retain access to the current genealogical features, if nothing goes wrong.
Thank you. It seems like much of the assets are the DNA data, which we paid to contribute. I may or may not delete right now, but I’ll certainly be opting out of whatever I can.
Thank you, Roberta! We can always count on you to cut through the muck and give us an understandable history. And…amusing!
I believe the Regeneron bid was a Stalking Horse Bid. A stalking horse bid is an initial, or lead, bid in a bankruptcy auction, often used to set a minimum price for other potential buyers to compete against. It’s a way for a struggling company (the debtor) to test the market and ensure they receive a reasonable price for their assets. The stalking horse bidder, chosen by the debtor, gets certain advantages in exchange for setting this price floor, like potential reimbursement for expenses or a “break-up fee” if another bidder wins. So Regeneron’s bid was not a sealed bid opening. That came later and was when TTF won. The interesting part to me was the shift to non-profit. I assume that was done so Anne (and others) could get a tax write-off by donating to it.