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23andMe considers splitting up company to revive stock price
Shares of 23andMe closed down 13% on Thursday, a day after the genetic testing company reported dismal fiscal third-quarter results and discussed splitting itself in two to help juice its stock price.
23andMe posted revenue of $45 million for the quarter, down from $67 million in the same period last year. The company said its net loss for the quarter was $278 million, or 58 cents a share, which is wider than the net loss of $92 million, or 20 cents per share, it reported in the year-ago quarter.
The stock closed at around 63 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.
(CNBC)
Northleaf Capital Partners completes final close of $285-million CAD growth equity fund
Toronto-based investment firm Northleaf Capital Partners has completed the final close for the Northleaf Growth Fund, its first growth equity fund, which now totals $212 million USD ($285 million CAD).
Northleaf says the new fund will focus on growth-stage North American technology and healthcare companies through a combination of direct co-investments and “opportunistic” secondary transactions.
Economic conditions have made secondary private equity an increasingly attractive asset class.
(BetaKit)
We’ll See More Exits & Reduced Valuations Among Digital Health Startups This Year, Experts Say
This year, industry experts think that some digital health startups will have to confront their challenges more head-on. Some companies may need to do things like fundraise at a lower valuation, explore opportunities for an acquisition or exit or, in some cases, consider the possibility of shutting down operations.
NGen investing $32.3 million into 15 advanced manufacturing projects
Next Generation Manufacturing Canada (NGen) is investing $32.3 million into 15 tech-enabled manufacturing projects across the country.
Among the companies working on the 15 projects is Halifax-based 3D BioFibR, which is working on collagen fibre manufacturing with project partner Plantform. 3D BioFibR has developed a process that mimics the action of a web-spinning spider to produce fibres from proteins such as collagen.
(BetaKit)
Arm of U.S. virtual-health giant begins serving ‘tens of thousands’ in N.L.
Teladoc Health Canada is starting to provide virtual emergency-room services and primary care to underserved communities in Newfoundland and Labrador, under a two-year, $22-million contract.
Teladoc’s managing director in Canada says its global scale means better care; critics say it’s harming a fledgling Canadian industry.
How to make data-driven decisions in your startup
Collecting and analyzing data to inform decisions is key to any startup’s growth. But in a world of unlimited data, failing to choose the right metrics to measure actually inhibits high-quality decision-making.
This is a challenge that Dillon Mullaney, VP of Revenue at Mozart Data, sees regularly with clients. Speaking with BetaKit, Mullaney explained how he builds high-quality dashboards that drive specific, relevant action.
(BetaKit)
Amazon cuts hundreds of jobs in One Medical, Pharmacy units
Amazon is eliminating a “few hundred roles” across One Medical and Amazon Pharmacy, the company confirmed Tuesday.
Amazon’s leadership wants One Medical to reduce its operating losses and tasked the healthcare company with saving an additional $100 million this year, Insider reported, citing people within the company.
OneEleven taps Chris Greenfield as new managing director
The nearly 10-month-long search for OneEleven’s next managing director came to an end this week, as the Toronto-based innovation hub revealed the appointment of Chris Greenfield to the role.
The lengthy search amassed over 1,000 applications on LinkedIn alone. Sources familiar with the process indicated to BetaKit that a handful of candidates had been offered the role prior to Greenfield, extending the search beyond its original target of Fall 2023.
(BetaKit)
Elon Musk’s Neuralink hype irks rivals yet shines a light on brain implants
Elon Musk’s habit of hyping a new technology, even when he is not a leader in the field, has long irked rivals. It was on full display this week when he wrote on X that one of his companies, Neuralink, had succeeded in implanting an electrode into a human brain for the first time.
But, while Musk’s claims bring a shrug of resignation from rivals, they also draw grudging acknowledgment that his attention grabbing has helped to propel the field closer to reality at a moment when it is reaching an important inflection point.
With doubling revenue and Scotiabank partnership, Solfium is bringing solar power to Latin America
Calgary and Montréal-based cleantech startup Solfium might be a Canadian company, but its ambitions lie thousands of kilometres south.
“Latin America has the lowest level of solar penetration, despite ideal conditions and ideal unit economics for the end customer, and so we saw a big opportunity there,” co-founder and CEO Andres Friedman said.
He described Solfium’s first iteration as a blend of “Uber plus Amazon” for the residential and commercial solar industry.
(BetaKit)
Ambience Healthcare raises $70M for its AI assistant led by OpenAI and Kleiner Perkins
Ambience Healthcare — which has developed what it describes as an “operating system” for healthcare organizations to help clinicians complete the substantial administrative work required of them — has raised $70 million to expand its business.
Digital twin company Unlearn secures $50M
Unlearn, an AI-enabled company creating digital twins of clinical trial participants, announced it scored $50 million in Series C funding, bringing its total raise to more than $130 million.
Unlearn uses machine learning to create digital twins of clinical trial participants before being randomized in a controlled trial. The digital twin can provide researchers insight into the participants’ health outcomes.