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23andMe Co-Founder and CEO Anne Wojcicki speaks onstage during TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2017 at Pier 48 on September 19, 2017 in San Francisco, California.

Steve Jennings

Shares of the genetic testing company 23andMe sank 21% Thursday, a day after the company reported dismal third-quarter fiscal 2024 results and discussed splitting itself in two to help juice its stock price.

23andMe reported revenue of $45 million for the quarter, down from the $67 million it reported in the same period last year. The company said its net loss for the quarter was $278 million, which is steeper than the net loss of $92 million it reported in the year-ago quarter.

The stock was trading at around 56 cents on Thursday.

In November, 23andMe received a deficiency letter from the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Department giving the company 180 days to bring its share price back above $1, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. If 23andMe fails to comply, it will be delisted from the exchange.

During 23andMe’s quarterly call with investors, co-founder and CEO Anne Wojcicki said the company is considering splitting up its consumer and therapeutics businesses to help expand its investor base.

“We have not made any definitive decisions about what we are going to do, but there [are] definitely opportunities and things that we are exploring with potentially having therapeutics be independent versus consumer,” she said. 

Founded in 2006, 23andMe exploded in popularity because of its at-home DNA testing kits that give consumers insights into their ancestry and genetic profiles. The five-time CNBC Disruptor 50 company went public in 2021 via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, a deal that valued the company at around $3.5 billion.

Wojcicki, the former spouse of Google founder Sergey Brin, briefly reached billionaire status after the IPO, landing spots on Forbes’ “Power Women” and “America’s Self-Made Women” lists.

But 23andMe has struggled to generate steady recurring revenue since consumers only needed to take its DNA test once in order to receive their results. The company has launched additional therapeutics and research businesses, but its share price has tumbled more than 95% from its peak.

For its full fiscal year in 2024, 23andMe said it expects to report revenue between $215 million and $220 million, down from the $240 million to $250 million range the company guided last quarter.

23andMe is also facing mounting legal troubles as it faces more than 30 class action lawsuits following a data breach it disclosed late last year. Hackers accessed sensitive information like names, ancestry reports, birth years and more from up to 6.9 million individuals, a spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch.

CFO Joe Selsavage said the company has incurred $2.7 million in expenses to date related to the data breach.

“We now require two-factor authentication from all of our customers, and we realized that our business really runs on the trust of our customers,” Selsavage said during the earnings call.

Analysts at Citi said the ongoing class action claims, as well as “persistent headline/reputational risk,” has made them cautious about 23andMe’s outlook, according to a note Thursday. They lowered their target price for the stock to 85 cents from 90 cents.

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Tesla stock slips after report EV maker is halting Cybertruck and Model Y production

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Tesla stock slips after report EV maker is halting Cybertruck and Model Y production

A Tesla Cybertruck sits on a lot at a Tesla dealership on April 15, 2024 in Austin, Texas. 

Brandon Bell | Getty Images

Tesla shares slid more than 2% Tuesday after a report that the electric vehicle maker was halting production of Cybertruck and Model Y models for a week in Austin, Texas.

The production stoppage begins June 30, Business Insider reported, citing a staff meeting where the announcement was made. The pause, which is for maintenance on production lines, would be the third such shutdown at the Austin facility in the past year, according to BI.

Tesla is tentatively launching the robotaxi in Austin on June 22, using Model Y vehicles equipped with a new version of the company’s “Full Self-Driving” technology.

CEO Elon Musk shared a video clip on X last week of a Model Y robotaxi on a road in Austin, adding to the buzz for the promised launch.

Read more CNBC tech news

CNBC has reached out to Tesla for comment on the reported pause.

Read the full BI story here.

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Tesla year-to-date stock chart.

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Reddit stock jumps after company rolls out new AI advertising tools

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Reddit stock jumps after company rolls out new AI advertising tools

Thomas Fuller | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Reddit shares popped about 5% after the social media company debuted new artificial intelligence-powered advertising tools.

The two new features, announced Monday in a post during the Cannes Lions festival, will help brands better leverage discussions on the platform. The company said the tools are powered by an engine called Reddit Community Intelligence that turns “posts and comments into structured intelligence.”

Reddit announced a “listening tool” called Reddit Insights, which shares real-time insights with marketers to help them identify trends and launch campaigns. The other tool, called Conversation Summary Add-ons, allows brands to show “positive” user content under their ads.

“These are tools for a new era of community marketing, one where brands can tap into Reddit’s authenticity and connect meaningfully with high-intent communities around the world,” the company wrote.

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The company said Publicis served as the exclusive alpha tester for Reddit Insights, while Lucid and Jackbox Games were among the early testers for Conversation Summary Add-Ons.

Companies across industries are betting on new ways to harness AI to improve advertising campaigns and better engage with users. These new tools are transforming the industry while also putting pressure on some advertising stalwarts.

The industry is also currently navigating a bumpy environment spurred by the trade war with China.

During the recent earnings season, many companies warned of sluggish advertising sales in certain regions due to a rocky macroeconomic environment. Recent developments, however, have suggested a cooling of tensions between the U.S. and China.

Last month, Reddit posted strong sales and upbeat guidance. The company has benefited from recent changes to Google search and internal site improvements, which include convincing logged-out users to open accounts. Logged-in accounts are more beneficial to advertisers.

WATCH: Outgoing WPP CEO says AI will ‘revolutionize’ advertising business

Outgoing WPP CEO says AI will 'revolutionize' advertising business

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Spotify’s Daniel Ek leads $694 million investment in defense startup Helsing

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Spotify's Daniel Ek leads 4 million investment in defense startup Helsing

Helsing uses AI to analyze large amounts of sensor and weapons system data from the battlefield.

Pavlo Gonchar | Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

European defense technology startup Helsing on Tuesday said that it’s raised 600 million euros ($693.6 million) in a bumper new round of funding.

The investment was led by Prima Materia, the venture capital firm founded by Spotify CEO Daniel Ek and by Shakil Khan, an early investor in the popular music streaming app. Ek is also chairman of Helsing.

Existing investors Lightspeed Venture Partners, Accel, Plural, General Catalyst and Saab also put money in, alongside new investors BDT & MSD Partners.

Defense and the technology behind it have become a hot area for investors lately, amid major global conflicts, including the Ukraine war to Israel-Gaza. Last week saw a further escalation of war in the Middle East as Israel launched a series of airstrikes against Iran.

In 2024, venture funding in Europe’s defense, security and resilience sector reached an all-time high of $5.2 billion, according to a recent report from the NATO Innovation Fund. The sector grew 30% in the past two years, outperforming the broader VC market, which saw a 45% decline over the same period.

Founded in 2021, Helsing sells software that uses artificial intelligence technology to analyze large amounts of sensor and weapons system data from the battlefield to inform military decisions in real time. Last year, the startup also began manufacturing its own line of military drones, called HX-2.

Helsing, which operates in the U.K., Germany and France, said it would use the fresh cash to invest in Europe’s “technological sovereignty” — which refers to attempts to onshore the development and production of critical technologies, such as AI.

“As Europe rapidly strengthens its defence capabilities in response to evolving geopolitical challenges, there is an urgent need for investments in advanced technologies that ensure its strategic autonomy and security readiness,” Ek said in a statement out Tuesday.

Helsing did not disclose its new valuation following the latest financing round, which is subject to “certain approvals,” according to a statement. The firm was previously valued at around 5 billion euros in a 450 million euro funding round led by General Catalyst last year.

90% of defense executives say the future will be dictated by software-defined products, says Accenture A&D Lead

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