Charting a path for consumer genomics: Our investment in Precise.ly

Health data is everywhere we look—and much of it lives within our own DNA. When collected and interpreted in the right way, this data has the potential to both predict our individual risk for numerous diseases and drastically impact health at a population level.

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing companies like 23andMe and Ancestry have been at the forefront of a market which is expected to reach $6.4B by 2028. But this growth is largely driven by sales in a handful of geographic regions—leaving significant populations around the globe underserved. Until now.

Today we are thrilled to announce our investment in Precise.ly, a genomics-driven precision medicine engine. Based in San Francisco, Precise.ly will bring consumer genomics to market at scale with at-home, saliva-based tests. The company will initially focus on consumers in India, where there’s a profound opportunity to solve unmet medical needs while unearthing insights across individuals from diverse genetic backgrounds.

Precise.ly is providing individualized genetic risk assessments and partnering with India’s leading hospital networks to improve tailored clinical care for each patient. In collaboration with Narayana Health—India’s leading specialty hospital network, with 24 hospitals serving 2.5M patients a year—Precise.ly will deliver next-generation sequencing (NGS) data through a consumer sales channel. Together, they will then support the identification of matched donors for stem cell transplants—just one of many life-saving clinical applications enabled by Precise.ly’s growing genomic database.

We’re proud to support Precise.ly’s founding team, Linda Avey and Aneil Mallavarapu, PhD, as they create a path toward personalized and preventive healthcare. In 2006, Linda co-founded 23andMe, inspired by the gaps she observed in the US research model that could be solved through a web- and consumer-based approach. In addition to her role as CEO of Precise.ly, Linda serves on the Advisory Board of Verily Life Sciences and is a member of the Board of Fellows for Stanford Medicine. She was also the first independent board member of Rock Health. Prior to Precise.ly, Aneil led knowledge management at Millennium Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Takeda for $8.8B) and developed award winning systems biology software at Harvard University. Aneil has also co-founded and built teams in multiple consumer engagement startups with executives from Skype, Facebook, and Palm. Together, Linda and Aneil bring over 35 years of experience in the genomics research industry.

The healthcare industry is at the precipice of leveraging consumer genomics to deliver on the promise of precision and data-driven health. We’re excited to support the team at Precise.ly, and are honored to welcome them to the Rock Health family.