From patients given inaccurate medical results to investors who lost millions, the collapse of Theranos affected victims far beyond Silicon Valley.
Published: October 15, 2026Last Updated: October 16, 2026
For years, Theranos sold patients and investors on the idea that their version of a routine blood test could be transformative. Founder Elizabeth Holmes claimed the company’s technology could deliver accurate results for numerous medical tests from tiny samples of blood, helping propel Theranos to a valuation of more than $9 billion and making Holmes one of Silicon Valley’s most celebrated entrepreneurs.
Behind that success, however, Theranos was struggling with technology that could not reliably perform many of the tests Holmes had promoted. By the time those problems became public, the company’s blood-testing services had reached real patients, some of whom received results that wrongly suggested they were miscarrying, facing cancer or experiencing other serious medical problems.
The fallout ultimately became part of two federal criminal cases. Holmes was convicted in 2022 of conspiracy and fraud involving investors, although jurors acquitted her on patient-related charges; a fourth count related to patients was dismissed. Former Theranos president and chief operating officer Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, who was tried separately, was convicted of defrauding both investors and patients.
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