Theranos

Theranos was a privately held health technology company in the United States that became well-known for making false promises about cutting-edge blood-testing technologies. Before it finally failed, the company, which was launched by Elizabeth Holmes in 2003, garnered a lot of money.

Early Success

Elizabeth Holmes, then 19 years old, founded Theranos in 2003 with the goal of revolutionizing the medical testing sector. The business asserted that it had created a ground-breaking blood-testing technique that needed only extremely small volumes of blood and could quickly deliver findings using small, automated machines.

These audacious claims garnered the business a lot of interest and funding. When Theranos reached its highest valuation of $10 billion in 2013, company had raised over US$700 million from venture capitalists and individual investors.

Bogus claims and outdated technology

Theranos attracted a lot of interest at first, but it soon became clear that the company's assertions were unfounded. It was discovered through independent studies and leaks from insiders that Theranos' blood-testing technology did not perform as advertised. To disguise the weaknesses in its unique technology, the corporation had really been conducting some testing on equipment that was readily available in the marketplace and falsifying test results.

Legal Repercussions and Bankruptcy

Investors, patients, and regulators all filed lawsuits against Theranos once the company's deceptive practices came to light. The once-promising health tech company ultimately had to be shut down, and its founder, Elizabeth Holmes, was charged with crimes for her part in the fraud.

Summary

Theranos was an American privately held health technology corporation. It was initially touted as a breakthrough technology company, with claims of having devised blood tests that required only very small amounts of blood and could be performed very rapidly using small automated devices the company had developed. However, these claims were later proven to be false. Founded in 2003 by 19-year-old Elizabeth Holmes, Theranos raised more than US$700 million from venture capitalists and private investors, resulting in a $10 billion valuation at its peak in 2013 and 2014.

Also See

• Elizabeth Holmes
• Medical technology
• Corruption scandals
• Medical evaluation