Logo: © 23andMe, Inc. / TTAM Research Institute. Used for editorial purposes. Source: 23andme.com.
Few stories in the genealogy industry have been as dramatic, or as consequential for ordinary researchers, as the collapse and reinvention of 23andMe. In the space of roughly eighteen months — from a 2023 data breach that compromised nearly seven million accounts, through a March 2025 bankruptcy filing, a contested sale process that drew objections from 27 state attorneys general, and a final $305 million acquisition by TTAM Research Institute (TTAM — an acronym for Twenty-Three And Me) a nonprofit controlled by the company’s own co-founder — 23andMe went from being the second-largest consumer DNA testing company in the world to being an organization whose future remains genuinely uncertain. For the roughly 15 million people whose genetic data sits in 23andMe’s database, including many genealogical researchers, understanding what happened and what it means is not optional.
How It Unraveled: From $6 Billion to Bankruptcy
23andMe was founded in 2006 by Anne Wojcicki, Linda Avey, and Paul Cusenza, with Wojcicki becoming the public face and longtime chief executive officer (CEO) of the company. The business model combined direct-to-consumer (DTC) DNA testing for ancestry and health information with a research division that licensed access to its aggregated customer database to pharmaceutical companies — a model that, at its peak, made 23andMe one of the most valuable biotechnology companies in the United States. The company went public in 2021 through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger that valued it at approximately $6 billion[1].
The decline was swift. Revenue from pharmaceutical partnerships fell sharply as drug companies found that 23andMe’s data, while large, was less clinically actionable than hoped. The company laid off hundreds of employees in multiple rounds of cuts. And in October 2023, a data breach — later determined to have exploited credential stuffing attacks against accounts with reused passwords — exposed the personal information of approximately 6.9 million[2] users, including ancestry data and family trees. A $30 million settlement followed. Wojcicki resigned as CEO in late 2024, though she remained on the board.
On March 23, 2025, 23andMe filed[3] for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. At that point, the company had approximately 15 million customer profiles in its database — one of the largest privately held collections of human genetic data ever assembled — and its fate was suddenly in the hands of a bankruptcy judge.
The Sale Process: Regeneron, TTAM, and 27 Attorneys General
The bankruptcy sale process drew immediate attention from privacy advocates, legislators, and state law enforcement. The core concern was straightforward: 23andMe held extraordinarily sensitive genetic data from millions of people who had provided it for personal research and health purposes — not to have it sold to the highest bidder in a bankruptcy proceeding. In June 2025, 27 state attorneys general and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit seeking to block the sale of customer genetic data without explicit consumer consent.
The initial frontrunner in the bidding process was Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, which offered approximately $256 million. Regeneron’s interest was transparent: access to 23andMe’s research database could accelerate the company’s drug development pipeline. The prospect of a pharmaceutical company acquiring 15 million genetic profiles for commercial drug development amplified the attorneys general’s concerns substantially.
That bid was ultimately superseded. Wojcicki, who had resigned as CEO specifically to position herself as an independent bidder, established TTAM as a California-based nonprofit public benefit corporation. TTAM submitted a winning bid of $305 million[4]. On June 27, 2025, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Brian Walsh approved the sale, overruling state objections. The transaction closed on July 14, 2025.
🔬 What TTAM Committed To — and What It Didn’t
The terms of the TTAM acquisition included a series of privacy commitments that went beyond 23andMe’s existing policies — but stopped short of what many privacy advocates and state attorneys general had sought. Understanding the distinction matters for any researcher deciding what to do with their 23andMe account.
TTAM committed to: honoring existing customer rights to delete accounts and genetic data; allowing indefinite opt-out from research participation; establishing an independent consumer privacy advisory board; notifying customers of material policy changes; preparing annual privacy reports available to state attorneys general upon request; and — crucially — restricting any future sale or transfer of genetic data to U.S.-based organizations only, subject to all applicable privacy laws.
What TTAM did not commit to was obtaining fresh affirmative consent from existing customers before transferring their data as part of the acquisition itself. This was the central objection raised by the attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Maryland, and North Carolina — all of whom recommended that their state’s residents consider deleting their 23andMe accounts. The bankruptcy court’s approval of the sale without requiring fresh consent created a legal precedent that privacy scholars have called deeply troubling: that genomic data from millions of people can change hands in a corporate transaction without those people being given a meaningful opportunity to say no.
Wojcicki framed TTAM’s mission in explicitly public-interest terms. “As a nonprofit, TTAM will be a champion of improving our knowledge of DNA — the code of life — for the public good, creating a resource to advance human health globally,” she said at the time of closing. Whether that mission is realized, and whether the nonprofit structure provides the durable protections customers need, remains to be seen.
Current Status: What 23andMe Looks Like in 2026
As of May 2026, 23andMe continues to operate as a consumer DNA testing and health information service under TTAM ownership. The day-to-day product has not changed dramatically since the acquisition — existing customers can still access their ancestry results, health reports, and DNA Relatives matching, and new kits are available for purchase. Several developments are worth noting for researchers evaluating the platform’s current state:
HybridIBD matching algorithm: 23andMe introduced HybridIBD, a new industry-level identity-by-descent (IBD) algorithm for detecting DNA matches, available to new customers and subscribers to the premium tier. The updated algorithm delivers more accurate match detection, particularly for more distant relationships — a meaningful improvement for genealogical research use.
DaNA — AI genealogy guide: 23andMe launched DaNA, an artificial intelligence[5] (AI)-powered guide designed to help customers interpret and explore their genetic results. DaNA provides personalized explanations of ancestry composition, haplogroup assignments, and DNA Relatives connections in conversational language — part of the broader industry trend toward AI-assisted genealogy tools covered in our recent AI tools article.
HealthEx medical records integration: In May 2026, 23andMe announced a partnership with HealthEx to allow customers to import their medical records into their 23andMe account, with an AI-generated health summary connecting their genetic data to their clinical history. This represents a significant pivot toward a more integrated health data platform — potentially distinguishing 23andMe from pure genealogy competitors, but also raising new questions about the concentration of sensitive health data in a single repository.
Pricing structure: The current service operates across three tiers. The base Ancestry + Health kit is $99. The Premium tier, at $199, adds Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-authorized carrier status reports, pharmacogenetics reports, expanded health predisposition reports, an expanded DNA Relatives list, and the HybridIBD matching. The Total Health tier, at $499, adds the most comprehensive health screening available. Prices have shifted multiple times since 2024 and should be verified before purchase.
Raw DNA download remains available: Customers can still download their raw DNA data file for upload to third-party platforms including FamilyTreeDNA (FTDNA) and GEDmatch — an important option for researchers who want to maximize their matching reach regardless of what happens to the 23andMe platform long-term.
What Researchers Should Do Now
For genealogical researchers who have existing 23andMe accounts, the practical decisions come down to three questions: whether to keep your account, whether to download your data, and whether to adjust your research participation settings.
Download your raw DNA data. Regardless of what you decide about your account, downloading your raw DNA file is free and takes only a few minutes. This gives you a permanent, platform-independent copy of your genetic data that can be used on any other platform — FTDNA, GEDmatch, or others — whether or not 23andMe continues to operate in its current form. Instructions are available in your account settings under the Browse Raw Data section. This is the single most important practical step for any 23andMe customer concerned about platform continuity.
Review your research participation settings. Under your account privacy settings, you can opt out of 23andMe’s research program at any time. If you are not comfortable with your anonymized genetic data being used in TTAM’s research mission — whatever form that ultimately takes — opting out is straightforward. TTAM has committed to honoring indefinite opt-outs.
Consider whether to delete your account. Four state attorneys general recommended deletion during the acquisition process. Deleting your account removes your profile and, upon request, your stored genetic sample (if it was retained). This is a personal decision that depends on your assessment of the privacy tradeoffs and your use of the platform’s ongoing features. If your primary use of 23andMe is genealogical matching, the platform’s smaller matching database — compared to AncestryDNA’s roughly 27 million profiles — means the genealogical value is already more limited than many researchers assume.
Upload to GEDmatch and FTDNA. If you tested at 23andMe and haven’t yet uploaded your raw data to GEDmatch and FTDNA, doing so significantly expands your matching reach without any additional testing cost. This is good practice regardless of platform concerns — as covered in our our Autosomal DNA: A Deeper Dive article.
The Bigger Picture: What This Means for the Industry
The 23andMe bankruptcy and TTAM acquisition have implications that extend well beyond the platform itself. Several lessons have crystallized for the genealogy and genetic privacy communities:
Consumer genetic databases are corporate assets. When you provide your DNA to a testing company, you are creating a corporate asset that can be sold, transferred, or otherwise disposed of in ways you did not anticipate and may not control. The 23andMe case made this concrete in a way that no prior event had. The question of whether genomic data should be treated differently from other corporate assets — as uniquely personal, uniquely sensitive, and uniquely heritable — is now before legislators at both state and federal level, as covered in our law enforcement and privacy article.
Nonprofit status is not a guarantee. TTAM’s nonprofit structure provides some protection against purely profit-driven data monetization, but nonprofits are not immune to financial pressure, mission drift, or future ownership changes. The commitment that future data transfers would be restricted to U.S.-based entities following the same privacy standards is meaningful — but it is a contractual commitment, not a legal guarantee, and its enforceability over the long term remains untested.
The genealogy value proposition of 23andMe was always secondary. 23andMe was built as a health genetics company that added ancestry features, not the reverse. Its matching database, while large, has never approached AncestryDNA’s in size, and its genealogy-specific tools are less developed than those at FTDNA or GEDmatch. Researchers who used 23andMe primarily for health screening have the strongest reason to maintain their accounts; those who used it primarily for genealogical matching have always had stronger alternatives available.
What This Means for Dillman Researchers
For Dillman Family Association (DFA) members who have tested at 23andMe, the most important immediate action is to download your raw DNA data if you haven’t already. That file can be uploaded to FTDNA — where the Dillman surname project is active — and to GEDmatch, expanding your matching reach regardless of what happens to 23andMe under TTAM ownership.
For members who haven’t yet tested at 23andMe and are considering it, the health screening features remain the platform’s primary differentiator. For genealogical matching alone, AncestryDNA’s larger database and FTDNA’s deeper genealogical tools are stronger starting points. The Dillman DNA Project page provides guidance on coordinating your testing strategy with other DFA members’ research.
Sources
- Wikipedia, “23andMe,” en.wikipedia.org/wiki/23andMe (accessed May 2026).
- 23andMe, “Security Incident,” October 2023, cited in Wikipedia, “23andMe,” en.wikipedia.org/wiki/23andMe (accessed May 2026).
- U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Missouri, Case No. 25-40976, March 23, 2025.
- TTAM Research Institute acquisition, July 14, 2025, cited in Wikipedia, “23andMe,” en.wikipedia.org/wiki/23andMe (accessed May 2026).
- 23andMe, “DaNA — AI Guide,” 23andme.com (accessed May 2026).
AI Disclosure: This article was researched and written with the assistance of Claude, an AI assistant developed by Anthropic. All facts have been reviewed for accuracy, but readers are encouraged to verify information independently, particularly for time-sensitive details such as pricing, policy changes, and service availability.
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