23andMe Secures $250 Million

Life sciences company 23andMe completed $250 million in financing led by Sequoia Capital. Euclidean Capital, Altimeter Capital, the Wallenberg Foundation, Fidelity Management & Research Company and Casdin Capital also participated.

23andMe was founded in 2006 with a mission to help people access, understand and benefit from the human genome. While customers typically use 23andMe to find out about their inherited medical histories and ancestries, 80 percent also allow their DNA profiles and medical information to be used anonymously in research. The company was named by the MIT Technology Review to its “50 Smartest Companies, 2017” list, and was named one of Fast Company’s 2017 “25 Brands That Matter Now.”

According to the company, 23andMe will use the funds to accelerate customer growth, continue funding its expanding therapeutics group, and invest in its crowdsourced genetic research platform.