23andMe's Fatal Flaw | Defying Gravity? | 2
Business Wars
Wondery
4.6 • 13.2K Ratings
🗓️ 18 June 2025
⏱️ 46 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Plagued by low sales of its genetic tests, 23andMe adopts a bold new plan: slash prices and enter the pharmaceutical industry. But with investors nervous, can CEO Anne Wojcicki keep the show going long enough to make her DNA dream pay off?
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of business wars, 23 and Me's fatal flaw, |
| 0:05.6 | early and ad-free right now. Join Wonderly Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. |
| 0:14.8 | It's March 20203, and Ann Wuchitsky has won a rare honor. |
| 0:23.3 | She's no longer merely the founder of the DNA testing company 23 and me. |
| 0:27.8 | She's now a Barbie doll, too. |
| 0:30.5 | Tomorrow is International Women's Day, and to mark the occasion, toy company Mattel is honoring seven female leaders in STEM with her own Barbie dolls. |
| 0:39.7 | Well, at least in their likeness. |
| 0:41.3 | Among the featured women are the Bay Area Wichitsky sisters. |
| 0:45.1 | Susan, CEO of YouTube and CEO of DNA Testing Company 23 and me, and Janet, professor at UC San Francisco. |
| 0:54.6 | Wichitsky and her sister's transformation into doll form |
| 0:57.8 | is part of an effort to encourage more girls to seek a career in science, tech, or engineering. |
| 1:03.7 | It's also great advertising for 23 and Me. |
| 1:07.0 | With a new Barbie movie starring Margot Robbie about to be released |
| 1:10.3 | and 23 and Me valued |
| 1:11.9 | at $1.75 billion. |
| 1:15.8 | Things are rosy. |
| 1:17.0 | It feels like 23 and Me is delivering on the big promises Wuchitsky made to investors in its |
| 1:22.1 | startup days. |
| 1:23.8 | She said then it would help people discover the secrets of their DNA while creating a valuable pool of genetic data for medical research. |
| 1:32.0 | And now, that promise seems to have come true. |
| 1:36.4 | But 13 years earlier, it looked so different. |
| 1:40.1 | 23 and me lacked customers and was getting heat from regulators for selling DNA tests without approval. |
... |
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