The Return of Silicon Valley’s Greatest Fraud

• Elizabeth Holmes wants to return to healthcare technology post-prison.
• She's been working on patents even while incarcerated.
• Her partner is raising money for a new biotech startup similar to Theranos.
• AI is playing a key role in the new venture's approach.
• Holmes continues to face skepticism due to her past.

New here at 11, convicted Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes says she plans to get back into healthcare technology after her release from prison.

In an interview with People magazine, Holmes revealed there's not a day that she hasn't continued working on her research and inventions from behind bars. She stated that she's committed to her dream of making affordable health care solutions available to everyone.

The partner of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes has raised millions of dollars for an artificial intelligence startup. "First, they think you're crazy, then they fight you, and then all of a sudden, you change the world."

Hi, welcome to another episode of Cold Fusion. The story of Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes was one of the most popular videos I've ever done. It's racked up 12 million views to date. Since then, there have been movies and documentaries made about her. She has become a cultural phenomenon of sorts.

You'd think that by raising 945 million dollars from investors and getting valued at 9 billion dollars based on misleading and false technology would have been enough to keep investors miles away from her. But I guess in 2025, anything can happen because Elizabeth Holmes is back.

Well, kind of. More specifically, she's involved in the healthcare industry again. This episode will be done in two parts. The first is the story of Theranos 2.0 and how on earth it's getting investment. The second part is the flip side to all of this. Ironically, over time, as technology has progressed, the idea of detecting health problems with just a single drop of blood has become possible.

And this is thanks to new research and AI. It sounds crazy, but maybe by the end of this episode, you'll have to think to ask yourself, what if it legitimately works? This time you are watching Cold Fusion tv.

But before we get started, just some quick housekeeping. Cold Fusion episodes are now available on Spotify, so you can watch them there if you prefer.

In 2022, Elizabeth Holmes was convicted of defrauding Silicon Valley in what can only be described as a spectacular disaster. She is now serving 11 years in prison. Why? She lied and put lives at risk with a promise to revolutionize the biotech industry while live-action role-playing as Steve Jobs.

Basically, in a nutshell, she claimed to have built a machine called the Edison that could test for a myriad of diseases all from a single drop of blood—a feat that was more than impossible.

In the late 2000s, Holmes roped in big investors throughout Silicon Valley. She lied her way to stardom, securing deals with large companies like Walgreens. All the while, in the background, her product didn't work, and patients were unknowing guinea pigs as they received false diagnoses.

By the end, Holmes had close to a billion dollars in investments from huge names like Rupert Murdoch and Larry Ellison. Her board of advisors was adorned with heavy titans like Henry Kissinger. The White House invited Holmes, and the magazines loved her. Meanwhile, she ordered her employees to fake the Edison's test results to buy more time. But her time eventually ran out when insiders blew the whistle.

But now her name is in the headlines again. In February of 2025, Holmes, now 41, told People magazine that she's been writing patents from prison. After her release, she wants to get back into biotech, and she's busy writing new patents for new inventions while behind bars. But there's a massive problem with that plan.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has banned her from serving as an officer or director of any public company. So that’s game over, right? Well, not really. She may not be able to run a public company, but she sure can help run a private company. And this is where her partner comes into play.

While in the midst of her federal investigation tribulations, Holmes found love in the form of Billy Evans, a then 30-year-old heir to a California hotel fortune. Together they would have two kids who she sees twice a week for two hours while behind bars in a Texas prison.

Her partner is carrying the biotech mantle. Billy Evans is actively raising money for his own bio company, Hermanthus. Hermanthus describes itself as "the future of diagnostics and a radically new approach to health testing."

In a move suspiciously reminiscent of Theranos, the company wants to scan for diseases using bodily fluids. Even their initial testing machine looks similar to Theranos' Edison machine. But ah, there's a catch. This time it's being run by, you guessed it, artificial intelligence. And that's according to marketing materials reviewed by The New York Times.

According to this marketing material, the Hermanthus device will use a laser to scan blood, saliva, or urine and analyze the samples on a molecular level. In just seconds, a deep learning model can be used to detect cancer and other issues. So far, they've been granted one patent.

As crazy and fraudulent as this sounds on the surface, especially with the mention of AI, it might not be as bungled an idea as you first think. You'll clearly see why later in the episode.

To achieve all of this, they're using a method called Raman spectroscopy. It's something that's been used in chemistry for close to a century. Basically, how it's done today is that you shine a laser on a molecule, and from the way it vibrates, you can tell what that molecule is.

The technique can help diagnose ALS as well as some forms of cancer. The problem is it's a very manual process, just ripe for automation. But all you need to remember is the term Raman spectroscopy for later in the episode.

The thing here, though, is according to two investors who are pitching the idea, Hermanthus is starting with animals. Pets, to be specific. And I hate to say it, but it's a pretty smart move. Less regulation, and there's a lot of money in it.

It just turns out that cancer screening for pets is a booming business—a multi-billion-dollar booming business. Healthcare investment bank Edgemont Partners described it as a recession-proof industry.

Okay, so after pet healthcare, then what? Well, the end goal for Hermanthus is to create a relatively cheap wearable health scanner for humans. They're claiming that they need three years and $70 million to make it happen.

Aside from the Elizabeth Holmes connection, it's going to take a lot to convince investors. Before this company, Evans worked at Lumina Technologies, a company that describes itself as producing advanced sensor technologies for the autonomous vehicle industry. So no medical experience there.

But to counteract his lack of experience in the field, Hermanthus told investors that it roughly has 20 advisors, including veterinarians and diagnosticians. The company has around 10 employees so far. According to NPR, Evans has already raised millions of dollars, so he must be one heck of a talker.

But the question must be asked: who is investing in this company? It's an interesting question. Just who would give a Theranos-adjacent company money?

Well, as you would expect, investors aren't exactly jumping on the opportunity. Michael Dell's investment firm promptly rejected the offer. An early investor in Facebook and VC manager said that they're going to skip for many of the same reasons we passed twice on Theranos in diagnostics.

"We've long held that the difference between a compelling story and a great company lies in scientific defensibility and clinical utility."

And but like a child's chocolate fundraising run, you can always count on friends and family to come through. So that's what Evans did. He began by soliciting $3.5 million in funding from friends and family and is looking for $15 million more in wealthy areas of San Francisco and Austin.

The New York Times could only track down one investor, Matthew Parkhurst. He helps run a tapas bar in Austin—not exactly the kind of person you'd expect to invest in such a thing, but interesting nonetheless.

Okay, so what's the flip side here? Why isn't the idea that Hermanthus is trying to do as fanciful as at first might seem? Interestingly, the timing might be right.

Artificial intelligence is pushing the field of Raman spectroscopy forward, and this is where things get more nuanced. With AI, a simple blood test can now accurately detect cancers.

And we've actually covered the full story on this channel before. But to give you an idea of the significance of this development, here's a quote: "We have a simple blood test that could be done in a doctor's office that would tell patients whether they have the potential signs of lung cancer and should get a follow-up CT scan."

That's not Bob the Scammer talking. That's the author of a Johns Hopkins study on the topic, Dr. Victor Velculescu. His position is professor of Oncology and co-director at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. This all means earlier detection and saving countless lives.

Lung cancer is one of the deadliest cancers, so this is an absolute breakthrough. AI and early detection from blood are also working in other types of cancers.

So, more specific to Hermanthus, scientists in China at the Medical University in Beijing have successfully used Raman spectroscopy in combination with AI, the very same technique that Hermanthus is using. The results of the Chinese study were 99.7% accuracy in melanoma cell detection and 97.9% accuracy for bacterial infections.

Another paper in the US did a similar thing and showed similar results. But with all of that being said, going from working science to an actual product isn't easy, and that's where most companies of this type fail.

So we will have to see what happens. There's no getting around it. Although there may be scientific evidence to say that what Hermanthus is trying to do isn't completely crazy, the ghost of Holmes is going to haunt this company.

Theranos was just such a clown show. When the scam unraveled on 11 May 2025, the Hermanthus company spoke on its ex account. The company wrote, "Yes. Our CEO Billy Evans is Elizabeth Holmes' partner. Skepticism is rational. We must make a clear high bar. We prefer to build first, talk later.

The science, when ready, will stand on its own merits. This is not Theranos 2.0." So do you believe them? That's up to you. But in totality, it's a less than black-and-white story.

The ghost of Holmes and her shadow can't be ignored. But the science is pretty solid, and others are working on similar technology and are showing some real promise, so only time will tell.

As for Holmes, she's going to stay in prison for another seven years. In recent weeks, her last appeal was rejected. So what do you guys think? It really is an interesting set of events, so feel free to discuss in the comments section below.

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Now back to the video. Anyway, that's about it from me. If you did like this episode, feel free to watch anything else on Cold Fusion. There's plenty of other interesting stuff here on science, technology, and business.

Okay, so my name is De Gogo, and you've been watching Cold Fusion, and I'll catch you again soon for the next episode. Cheers, guys. Have a good one. Cold Fusion, it's me thinking of you.