Trial of the "start-up" Theranos: Elizabeth Holmes wanted to "change the world"
Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of the start-up Theranos, on the first day of her trial in San Jose, CA, on September 8, 2021. AP - Nic Coury
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
Hollywood has already planned to make a film with Jennifer Lawrence as the scandal is exceptional.
The trial of Elizabeth Holmes opened on Wednesday, September 8, in San José, California.
This young woman is accused of massive fraud after raising hundreds of millions of dollars to launch her "start-up", Theranos, supposed to design a technology capable of diagnosing diseases by simply analyzing a few drops of blood taken from a finger.
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With his machine called Edison, Theranos was to revolutionize preventive medicine. And at a low price. But in October 2015, the
Wall Street Journal
revealed that the
start-up
actually used commercially available tools for its blood tests. Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of Theranos, then reacts on CNBC: “
This is what happens when you try to change things. We call you crazy and we fight you and finally, you change the world ”
.
“
Changing the world
” was indeed Elizabeth Holmes' ambition since she created Theranos in 2003, at only 19 years old and without medical training. At its zenith in 2015, her
start-up
employed 800 people and was worth $ 9 billion, making the young woman a star of Silicon Valley. The deep-voice, turtleneck ex-Stanford student convinced seasoned investors like billionaire Rupert Murdoch to believe in technology that didn't work.
Tyler Schultz, a former employee interviewed in the documentary
The Inventor
: “
On the one hand, she was seen as a goddess, the new Steve Jobs.
On the other hand, nothing worked, it was a shipwreck, everything was a lie.
Even I, who worked on these machines every day, sometimes managed to convince me ”
.
The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley Clip
She "
lied and cheated to get money,
" said prosecutor Robert Leach as an introduction on the first day of trial. “
His shenanigans brought him fame, honor and worship. She was considered the next Steve Jobs (late founder of Apple), whom she greatly admired. She had become one of the most celebrated leaders of Silicon Valley and the world - which she had desired,
”he continued in front of the accused, her relatives, and many lawyers and journalists.
“
Failure is not a crime, to persevere and fail to do so is not a crime,
” said attorney Lance Wade.
He wished to recall the numerous patents filed by Theranos and the 235 tests (cholesterol, iron, hormones, diseases, etc.) which could be carried out from a few drops of blood.
Then he returned to the role of her ex-boyfriend and partner, 19 years her senior, who he said was controlling her and abusing her psychologically.
Ramesh Balwani is to be judged separately.
Elizabeth Holmes faces twenty years in prison for fraud and criminal conspiracy.
The judgment is expected in December 2021.
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