The saga of Elizabeth Holmes, the convicted and imprisoned Theranos founder, has taken a jaw-dropping new turn. While Holmes languishes in a Texas federal prison, stripped of her Silicon Valley crown and now reduced to clerking for 31 cents an hour and teaching French to fellow inmates, her partner Billy Evans is making headlines by raising millions for a new blood-testing venture that’s already igniting déjà vu across the biotech world.
Holmes: From Boardroom to Cell Block
- Legal Dead End: Holmes, 41, saw her last-ditch appeal slammed shut by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals this week, leaving her with only a faint hope of a Supreme Court Hail Mary or a presidential pardon. Her 11-year, three-month sentence for defrauding investors out of hundreds of millions remains firmly in place, with a projected release in 2032.
- Prison Routine: Once hailed as the next Steve Jobs, Holmes now spends her days as inmate No. 24965-111 in Bryan, Texas, working menial jobs, running reentry programs for fellow inmates, and teaching French2. She maintains her innocence, telling PEOPLE magazine, “Theranos failed. But failure is not fraud.”
- Future Ambitions: Despite a decade-long SEC ban from public company leadership, Holmes is plotting a post-prison comeback, reportedly drafting new patents from behind bars and vowing to return to biotech upon release.
Evans: Haemanthus-Theranos 2.0 or Real Innovation?
- The Pitch: Billy Evans, Holmes’ partner and father of her two children, has launched Haemanthus, a startup named after the “blood lily”-and is seeking to raise over $50 million for a device that uses lasers and AI to analyze blood, saliva, and urine for disease biomarkers. The company is initially targeting the booming pet diagnostics market, with plans to expand to humans.
- Investor Response: Despite the shadow of Theranos, Evans has already raised millions, primarily from friends, family, and select backers in Austin and San Francisco. However, heavyweight investors like Michael Dell and Facebook’s Jim Breyer have reportedly passed, wary of the “eerily familiar” pitch and lack of scientific transparency.
- Holmes’ Role: Holmes is reportedly advising Evans from prison, though she is not taking a formal role-likely due to her SEC ban and the radioactive legacy of Theranos. Investor materials for Haemanthus omit any mention of her involvement.
- Echoes of the Past: The Haemanthus prototype, described as a rectangular device with tunable lasers and a digital display, bears a striking resemblance to the infamous Theranos Edison machine. The company’s marketing language-“the future of diagnostics,” “radically new approach”-could have been lifted from the Theranos playbook.
Industry and Public Reaction
- Skepticism and Satire: The biotech and investment communities are watching with a mix of disbelief and dark amusement. Social media buzzes with jokes about “Theranos 2.0,” while serious observers question whether Evans’ venture is a genuine innovation or a risky repeat of a notorious fraud.
- Regulatory and Ethical Red Flags: With Holmes’ direct advisory role, Haemanthus faces intense scrutiny. Any misstep could trigger swift regulatory and media backlash, given the unresolved wounds from the Theranos scandal.
Bottom Line
The Theranos story refuses to die. As Holmes exhausts her legal options and adapts to life behind bars, her partner is courting millions for a new blood-testing startup that looks and sounds suspiciously familiar. With Holmes whispering advice from her prison cell, the biotech world is left to wonder: Is this the ultimate redemption arc, or the prelude to another spectacular flameout? For now, the only certainty is that the Holmes-Evans partnership remains Silicon Valley’s most sensational-and controversial-sideshow.
