23andMe Files for Bankruptcy Protection: What Will Happen to Your Data?

23andMe made a name for itself by selling at-home, mail-in DNA testing kits that gave ordinary people a look at their possible ancestry as well as genetic markers that could point to potential medical problems down the road. People bought into the idea and bought the kits. The company made a lot of money, and its value reached as high as $6 billion when it went public in 2021. But eventually demand faded and so did 23andMe's profits. Its value had dropped to about $50 million last week. The company also suffered a massive data breach in 2023, adding to its mounting costs and destroying trust in its data security practices. Late last year, it said it would lay off 40% of its workforce. So it wasn't a big surprise that after the failure of a last-ditch bid by the CEO to take the company private, 23andMe ultimately filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, late Sunday, saying it hopes the move will help it shed more costs and bring about the sale of the company. Now the possibility o ... Read full article.