Theranos (2014): Peak private valuation · 589
Open Theranos in the bound newspapers at 2014. The line the paper held is “Peak private valuation,” and the figure printed with it is 9. Do not use the same verb for rumour and for a verdict. The aftermath is a split verdict that popular culture keeps trying to make simple, and a laboratory file that was already grim before the jury sat.
Theranos promised laboratory results from a finger-stick. After 2015 reporting and a 2022 federal verdict, Elizabeth Holmes was convicted of fraud against investors. Theranos, Inc., a Palo Alto company founded by Elizabeth Holmes, told investors, partners, and the public that its devices — marketed under names including Edison — could run a wide menu of laboratory tests from a few drops of blood. At its peak the private company was valued in the press at about $9 billion (2014).
On 15 October 2015 the Wall Street Journal published John Carreyrou’s investigation reporting that the firm used conventional machines for many tests and that the proprietary devices were not doing what the company claimed. Federal and state health regulators, the SEC, and the Department of Justice followed with inspections, civil charges, and criminal indictments.
A jury in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California convicted Holmes on 3 January 2022 of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and three counts of wire fraud against investors. Judge Edward J. Davila sentenced her on 18 November 2022 to 135 months in prison. Ramesh ‘Sunny’ Balwani, the former president and chief operating officer, was convicted in July 2022 and later sentenced to 155 months. Patient-related counts against Holmes did not produce convictions.
In 2014, Theranos keeps 9 and “Peak private valuation.” Change the verb when the status changes.2014
Figures to keep
- Year in the file
- 2014
- Figure that fixes it
- 9
- Case
- Theranos
- Line that was public
- Peak private valuation
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