23andMe went bankrupt and put 15 million customers' DNA profiles up for sale

23andMe collected DNA samples from more than 15 million customers, promising that their genetic data would be used only for ancestry and health insights. When the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on March 23, 2025, that data became its most valuable asset — something a bankruptcy court could sell to the highest bidder to repay creditors.

FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson wrote to the bankruptcy trustee warning that any buyer must be bound by 23andMe's existing privacy commitments. Twenty-eight state attorneys general filed suit requiring explicit consent from each customer before their data could be transferred. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals bid $256 million; TTAM Research Institute, a nonprofit founded by former CEO Anne Wojcicki, won with a $305 million bid.

The court approved the sale on the condition that TTAM abide by existing privacy policies, establish a consumer privacy board, and provide two years of identity-theft monitoring. Only about 2 million of 15 million customers had requested data deletion by the time the sale closed in July 2025. The rest — their DNA, health data, and ancestry information — transferred to a new owner.