A view of the 23andMe headquarters in Sunnyvale, California, on March 25, 2025.
Tayfun Coskun | Anadolu | Getty Images
23andMe co-founder Linda Avey took to social media on Wednesday to express frustration concerning the fate of the once-thriving genetic testing company that spiraled into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week.
Avey helped launch 23andMe in 2006 alongside Paul Cusenza and Anne Wojcicki, who resigned as CEO on Friday. The corporate went mainstream because of its popular at-home DNA testing kits, but struggled in recent times to generate recurring revenue, arise viable therapeutics and research businesses and assuage privacy concerns.
“My time at the corporate was cut short in 2009, when my co-founder Anne convinced the board that she should run the corporate,” Avey wrote in a post on social media site X. “And I should be honest, I used to be frustrated with the direction the corporate took after that time.”
23andMe, which reached a peak market cap of about $6 billion, was price around $14 million as of market close on Wednesday.
“Without continued consumer-focused product development, and without governance, 23andMe lost its way, and society missed a key opportunity in furthering the concept of personalized health,” Avey wrote.
Last March, 23andMe’s independent directors formed a special committee to guage the corporate’s potential paths forward. All seven members resigned from the board in September and said they disagreed with Wojcicki concerning the “strategic direction for the corporate.”
“After my departure, she architected a majority vote for herself that eliminated board governance, at the same time as it expanded over the next funding rounds,” Avey said. “For higher or worse, the buck stopped together with her. It got here as no surprise when the board resigned last yr.”
Wojcicki submitted multiple proposals to take the corporate private herself, but all were rejected, even after the corporate appointed latest board members. The special committee “unanimously determined to reject” Wojcicki’s most up-to-date proposal earlier this month.
If 23andMe’s Chapter 11 plan is approved by the court, the corporate will “actively solicit qualified bids” over a 45-day process. Wojcicki still plans to pursue the corporate as an independent bidder, she said in a post on X on Monday.
“There are numerous cautionary tales buried within the 23andMe story,” Avey said. “Striking a balance between the will for founder control and board oversight is important; otherwise, why have a board in any respect?”
23andMe didn’t immediately reply to CNBC’s request for comment.
