Merger will make DNA sequencing and clinical genomics more accessible and affordable to all.
Gene by Gene, Ltd., the leading developer of consumer DNA testing products for ancestry and genealogy applications, announced today the acquisition of Arpeggi, Inc., a StartUp Health- and GE-backed startup that develops solutions for genome sequencing, data management and computational analysis.
The announcement also represents the first successful exit of one of StartUp Health’s portfolio companies signaling how well their program is working to successfully accelerate and scale digital health startups.
The new combined company will be a major competitor to companies like 23andme and offer the consumer market much greater access and affordability to DNA testing and sequencing services. Gene by Gene plans to leverage Arpeggi’s infrastructure to assist human genomic and bioinformatics companies get the most out of their data.
Arpeggi was founded in 2012 by CEO Nir Leibovich, previously a product manager for San Francisco-based game maker Zynga Inc. and co-founder of Austin-based MarketZero Inc., which was acquired by Zynga in 2011. The Austin-based startup develops proprietary sequencing tools, designed for scale, that enable accurate, fast, and cost-effective analysis of genomes. Back in April, the startup released GCAT – Genome Comparison and Analytic Testing, a free community driven platform for evaluating the performance of next-generation sequencing (NGS) data analysis methods. Arpeggi was selected as one of 14 startups to join the Startup Health and GE Entrepreneurship Program to help grow, commercialize and scale new innovative healthcare technologies.
The entire Arpeggi team and technology platform will be incorporated into Gene by Gene. Additionally, Arpeggi’s founders will join Gene By Gene’s management team, effective immediately. Arpeggi’s Nir Leibovich was named Gene By Gene’s Chief Business Officer, Jason Wang was named Chief Technology Officer and David Mittelman, Ph.D was named Chief Scientific Officer. Gene by Gene’s Doron Behar, M.D., Ph.D. was also named Chief Medical Officer. Gene By Gene’s Blankfeld and Bennett Greenspan continue to serve as the company’s Managing Partners.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Gene by Gene will now join the Startup Health and GE’s three year program to assist them in growing and scaling the company forward.
