The Genetic Genealogist

Speaking of the $1000 genome, if you haven’t visited the 23andMe main page recently, you’ll probably want to check it out. The site has been redesigned and includes links to an About page and a Press Release page, a Contact page, and the Jobs page. I love the fact that the job benefits include “free genotyping for you and a family member or friend”!!

The front page also has a new description of the company:

“23andMe is a privately held company developing new ways to help you make sense of your own genetic information.

“Even though your body contains trillions of copies of your genome, you’ve likely never read any of it. Our goal is to connect you to the 23 paired volumes of your own genetic blueprint (plus your mitochondrial DNA), bringing you personal insight into ancestry, genealogy, and inherited traits. By connecting you to others, we can also help put your genome into the larger context of human commonality and diversity.

“Toward this goal, we are building on recent advances in DNA analysis technologies to enable broad, secure, and private access to trustworthy and accurate individual genetic information. Combined with educational and scientific resources with which to interpret and understand it, your genome will soon become personal in a whole new way.”

The press release page has only one release announcing that they have completed Series A Financing. A story from Reuters today revealed that Google Inc. has invested $3.9 million in 23and Me. Here’s the text of the story:

“STANFORD, California (Reuters) - Google Inc. has taken a small stake in a biotech company that was co-founded by the wife of one of Google’s founders, Sergey Brin, Google said in a U.S. regulatory filing on Tuesday.

Google said it had invested $3.9 million in the company, called 23andMe Inc., giving the Mountain View, California-based Google a minority stake in the start-up, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

23andMe is a privately held company that promises to help consumers understand and browse their own genetic information.

Besides Google, the initial round of outside funding in 23andMe includes venture capital firms New Enterprise Associates and Mohr Davidow Ventures and biotechnology giant Genentech Inc..

Anne Wojcicki, co-founder of 23andMe, was married earlier this month to Brin, Google’s co-founder and president.

Prior to Google’s investment in 23andMe, Brin provided around $2.6 million in interim debt financing to 23andMe, which was repaid as part of this financing transaction, the filing said.

Genentech’s Chief Executive Arthur Levinson is a member of the board of directors of Google. The company said Google’s audit committee and reviewed and approved the transaction after taking advice from independent advisors.

Linda Avey, a 20-year veteran of the biotech industry, is a co-founder of 23andMe, along with Wojcicki.

Esther Dyson, a veteran analyst of the computer and Internet industries, who now focuses on personal investment is a board member of 23andMe.”

Thanks to Techcrunch (although exposure through TechCrunch is great for any company, I wasn’t crazy about their coverage).

Update: EyeonDNA has links to other sites with more information about the latest developments at 23andMe!