Our Story | Ancestry Corporate

Corporate

Bringing together science and self-discovery, Ancestry helps everyone, everywhere discover the story of what led to them. Our sophisticated engineering and technology harnesses family history and consumer genomics, combining billions of rich historical records, millions of family trees, and samples from over 15 million people in the AncestryDNA network to provide people with deeply meaningful insights about who they are and where they come from to enrich their lives.

We’ve pioneered relentlessly to define this category providing the tools and information you need, all in one smart platform, to make discovery easier. We use the latest science and technology to enable discoveries that are uniquely relevant--helping unlock new understanding and meaningful connections.

For over 30 years, Ancestry has been a trusted partner to its millions of members on their journeys of personal discovery.

The Early Years

1983

Ancestry Publishing is founded, publishing over 40 family history magazine titles and genealogy reference books.

1990

As genealogists begin to use personal computers to organize their trees, family history software grows as publications move towards floppy disks.

1996

Ancestry Publishing launches Ancestry.com paving the way for online family history.

1997

Ancestry.com offers family history information on CD-ROM to help people grow their family trees.

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For over 30 years, Ancestry has been a trusted partner to its millions of members on their journeys of personal discovery.

1983

Ancestry Publishing is founded, publishing over 40 family history magazine titles and genealogy reference books.

1990

As genealogists begin to use personal computers to organize their trees, family history software grows as publications move towards floppy disks.

1996

Ancestry Publishing launches Ancestry.com paving the way for online family history.

1997

Ancestry.com offers family history information on CD-ROM to help people grow their family trees.

2000

Ancestry launches the first census images, and completes the 1930 census in 2003.

2001

Ancestry reaches the one billion record milestone.

2001

Ancestry.co.uk debuts, starting the company’s international expansion.

2002

Ancestry enters into the DNA testing arena partnering with Relative Genetics [offering y and mitochondrial testing]

2006

Australian, Canadian, and German sites are introduced.

2006

New customer-centric collaboration innovations are added to the product, including the iconic shaky leaf hints and Ancestry Member Trees.

2007

Ancestry expands DNA offering with integration of family trees.

2007

More sites are added for international customers, including French, Italian, Swedish, and Chinese.

2009

Ancestry reaches the one million subscribers mark and debuts on the NASDAQ.

2010

The first season of the U.S. series Who Do You Think You Are? launches. The show’s success leads to additional seasons and becomes the first of many new TV partnerships for the Ancestry brand.

2011

The first Ancestry app for iPad and iPhone is unveiled, reaching one million downloads within a few months and garnering numerous industry awards.

2012

Ancestry hits the two million subscriber mark and is the first site to offer 134 million searchable images of the 1940 U.S. census.

2012

New autosomal AncestryDNA is launched, testing the human genome at 700,000 markers to offer users insight into their ethnicity.

2013

Ancestry announces an exclusive agreement with FamilySearch to digitize one billion records from its mountain vault.

2013

AncestryDNA is updated to map a test taker's ethnic origins to 26 global regions.

2015

Ancestry introduces revolutionary new technology to power New Ancestry Discoveries.

2015

The new Ancestry launches with features like LifeStory and Historical Insights that transform how customers discover and tell family stories.

2015

Ancestry releases an exclusive collection of U.S. Wills and Probate records.

2015

A new record-setting milestone—one million people tested via AncestryDNA—is achieved.

2016

AncestryDNA expands product availability to almost 30 countries.

2018

AncestryDNA has over 10 million people in its consumer DNA network, making it the largest in the world.

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We help unlock new understanding and meaningful connections.

For over 30 years, Ancestry has been a trusted partner to its millions of members on their journeys of personal discovery.

For over 30 years, Ancestry has been a trusted partner to its millions of members on their journeys of personal discovery.