[3] Exact Sciences was founded in 1995 in Marlborough, Massachusetts, by Stanley Lapidus and Anthony Shuber as a company focused on the development of a non-invasive test for colorectal cancer.

[4][5][6] A significant turnaround in the company's fortunes began with the announcement of a mutual collaboration and licensing agreement between Exact Sciences and the Mayo Clinic in June 2009.

[15][16][17] In summer 2019, Exact Sciences opened a new 169,000 square feet lab and warehouse facility to expand its testing capacity for Cologuard and, in its largest acquisition yet, announced its intention to buy Genomic Health, a genetic cancer detection company based in Redwood City, California, for $2.8 billion.

[18][19][20][21] In March 2020, Exact Sciences purchased Paradigm Diagnostics and Viomics, two companies based in Phoenix, Arizona that would expand their lab testing and research and development capabilities.

[24] In early 2021, Exact Sciences announced its acquisition of Ashion Analytics and plans to collaborate in research with TGen, the City Of Hope's Genomics Institute.

[25][non-primary source needed] This news came shortly after the company's decision to purchase an exclusive-use license of TGen's proprietary liquid biopsy-based test technology, Tardis.