Mad Hedge Technology Letter
March 24, 2025
Fiat Lux
Featured Trade:
(23ANDME GETS DUMPED)
(ME)
Mad Hedge Technology Letter
March 24, 2025
Fiat Lux
Featured Trade:
(23ANDME GETS DUMPED)
(ME)
Tech is full of ideas swept into the dustbin of history, and 23andMe is just another blatant example of it.
Mr. Market decides the fate of these public companies and nobody else.
Remember they went public when there was more money than common sense.
Interest rates were low and half-baked tech ideas were getting funded left and right.
That was back when things like Hollywood used to be relevant.
Fast forward to today and 23andMe is done and dusted.
They filed for bankruptcy protection in the US to help sell itself.
Many of these mediocre tech companies are falling like dead flies as the thirst to prove profitable has really hit tech as small firms deal with the 1000-pound gorilla in the room.
The company has never flipped a profit.
They could solve the problem of extracting recurring revenue and many customers fled the company after doing their DNA test.
The San Francisco-based company said its chief executive and co-founder Anne Wojcicki was stepping down. She has been pushing for a buyout since April last year but was rebuffed by 23andMe’s board.
The company is still reeling from a huge data breach in 2023 that affected the data of nearly 7 million people, about half of its customers. Revenues have fallen as many of its 15 million customers scramble to delete their DNA data from the company’s archives.
This is a company that can solely exist with some level of trust, and that trust was extinguished in one fell swoops as hackers made out with everything important to the company.
At a time when other tech overlords are headed into the health business, the proverbial goalposts could never be narrower than they are today.
That is bad news for shareholders and bad news for the possibility of a quick turnaround.
Fighting for survival, 23andMe has cut the jobs of 200 people, amounting to 40% of its workforce, and stopped the development of all its therapies in November. Wojcicki’s ambition has been to turn the company into a drug developer.
The CEO will be replaced by its chief financial officer, Joe Selsavage, until a permanent replacement is found but she is staying on the 23andMe board.
It has never been harder to make a profit in Silicon Valley and even though data leaks aren’t a big deal for big tech giants, they are a death sentence for an upstart.
A company like 23andMe never found a way to monetize its business model.
I remember the fad of getting your genes tested to see where you are from, but that spark was met with a big thud.
The truth is, how do you come back from a data leak when that is the sole value of your firm?
The answer is you don’t.
23andMe won’t be able to do much of anything to expand their revenue projections while they are mired in over 30 lawsuits.
Everything they will do will be like walking on a tightrope.
Better to just shut down the company and restart a new one.
It’s hard to believe that in 2021, the company had a stock price of over $320.
Fast forward to today and the stock is trading under $1.
American capitalism is for no faint of heart and 23andMe’s story is a bruising anecdote to what happens when tech firms don’t safeguard their secret sauce.
That sauce has now gone rotten.
Legal Disclaimer
There is a very high degree of risk involved in trading. Past results are not indicative of future returns. MadHedgeFundTrader.com and all individuals affiliated with this site assume no responsibilities for your trading and investment results. The indicators, strategies, columns, articles and all other features are for educational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. Information for futures trading observations are obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but we do not warrant its completeness or accuracy, or warrant any results from the use of the information. Your use of the trading observations is entirely at your own risk and it is your sole responsibility to evaluate the accuracy, completeness and usefulness of the information. You must assess the risk of any trade with your broker and make your own independent decisions regarding any securities mentioned herein. Affiliates of MadHedgeFundTrader.com may have a position or effect transactions in the securities described herein (or options thereon) and/or otherwise employ trading strategies that may be consistent or inconsistent with the provided strategies.
This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.
OKLearn moreWe may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.
Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.
These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.
Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refuseing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.
We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.
We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.
These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience.
If you do not want that we track your visist to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here:
We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.
Google Webfont Settings:
Google Map Settings:
Vimeo and Youtube video embeds: