Venture capital firm MPM Capital has joined a syndicate investing a further $9m in US-based personal genetics research company 23andMe.
23andMe previously raised $22m in its series C round from a consortium including new investor Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation (JJDC), the corporate venturing unit of a local healthcare company.
Alongside JJDC in the syndicate were repeat investors Google Ventures, the corporate venturing unit of search engine firm Google, and venture capital (VC) firm New Enterprise Associates (NEA). Google Ventures, invested $3.2m in 23andMe’s latest round and $10.2m in total, according to newswire Associated Press from a regulatory filing.
Formed in 2006 by Linda Avey and Anne Wojcicki, the wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, 23andMe raised its series A round in May 2007 from Google, biotech group Genentech, NEA and VC peer MDV-Mohr Davidow Ventures.
Named after the number of chromosomes in a human, 23andMe’s series B closed at $27.8m last year, according to a regulatory filing that also said noted angel investor Esther Dyson was a director alongside NEA partner Patrick Chung.