The Rise And Fall Of 23andme

23andMe was founded in 2006.Smith Collection/GadoA class action lawsuit, resignations, layoffs, and other problems have plagued 23andMe.The company's issues have led to consumer concerns about how it handles genealogy data.Here's how 23andMe rose and then fell.23andMe is struggling.The biotech company that helped usher in the era of consumer DNA test kits nearly two decades ago has faced several recent setbacks, including a class action lawsuit and user privacy concerns.A spokesperson for 23andMe told Business Insider in a statement that "the company's mission of helping people live longer, healthier lives through a preventive approach to health, and providing access to potentially life-changing genetic information, hasn't changed."Here is a timeline of the company's meteoric rise and steady fall.2006: 23andMe is founded in Silicon Valley 23andMe cofounder Anne Wojcicki.Kimberly White / Getty Images23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki co-founded the company in 2006 with biologist Linda Avey and Paul Cusenza, who previously worked at the now-defunct Perlegen Sciences, which was a biotech startup that studied human genomes.The company planted roots in Silicon Valley, where other startups like Twitter and YouTube were taking shape at the time."The team of three worked out of a small office in Palo Alto, complete with an overcrowded, hardworking computer server room," a company blog post says.