Genealogy company Ancestry launches consumer genetic health testing as a rival to 23andMe

Ancestry, a company that uses DNA testing to give consumers information about their family history, is moving into consumer genetic health testing as a rival to 23andMe.

The company announced Wednesday the launch of AncestryHealth to offer consumers genotype and next-generation genetic sequencing services.

23andMe, which launched in 2006, gained regulatory clearance from the Food and Drug Administration two years ago for the first direct-to-consumer tests that provide genetic risk information for certain conditions. The consumer genetic testing company has 10 million customers and also offers genealogy reports.