After a rocky start to 2020, consumer DNA testing company 23andMe will close out the year with $82.5 million in new funding. The round was reported in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission last week, as first noted by the Silicon Valley Business Journal.
Sequoia Capital and NewView Capital led the raise, a company spokesperson wrote in an email. They said it was an extension of a previous $250 million series F round led by Sequoia.
Slowing demand for at-home DNA testing hit both 23andMe and its competitors earlier this year. In January, the company announced planned layoffs of 100 people, about 14% of its workforce.
A month later, Ancestry also cut 100 people, or roughly 6% of its workforce, citing a slowdown in demand across the category. Private equity firm Blackstone has since acquired it for $4.7 billion.
23andMe is still focused on consumer testing, research and drug discovery. Earlier this year, the company launched a study to identify genetic differences in patients that experience severe symptoms from Covid-19.
Participants submit survey answers and genetic data, which is de-identified and shared at the individual level with researchers. More than a million people have participated, including 15,000 that had tested positive for Covid-19 and 1,100 suffering symptoms that required hospitalization.
