Last Words
“This little box is going to change the world.”
Raised
$1.3 billion — evaporated in a puff of secrecy
Cause of Death
Claimed to reinvent blood testing — but the tech never worked.
Notable twist
Raised $1.3B without real science. Faked results. Fooled investors, media, even Walgreens.
Details
Theranos, founded by Elizabeth Holmes at just 19, promised a future where a single drop of blood could diagnose hundreds of conditions. Backed by media hype and big-name investors, the company reached a $9B valuation before it all unraveled. Behind the scenes, the tech never worked — results were unreliable, and most tests were secretly run on traditional machines. Eventually exposed, Theranos became a case study in startup fraud and blind investor faith.
Pitch: “One drop of blood. A thousand tests.”
