


However, Theranos' claims it had revolutionized blood testing kept the business afloat, with the company, which is now defunct, soaring in valuation.įor example, Theranos made deals with Walgreens to launch in-store blood sample collection centers and made agreements with the Cleveland Clinic, Capital BlueCross, and AmeriHealth Caritas which planned to use Theranos' technology. Theranos' documents gave the impression that big pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer had endorsed its technology, but this was not the case.įrom the very beginning, Theranos faced serious problems including non-working technology, questionable lab procedures, and financial difficulties. In reality, only eight tests could be run, not 300, reports Cosmopolitan. Theranos' technology did not work to the extent Holmes and her company said it did. Over the years, Holmes was able to recruit influential figures in the tech world and beyond to sit on her board, including former secretaries of state George Shultz and Henry Kissinger, famed lawyer David Boies and the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, William Foege. Read more Transformation Into Elizabeth Holmes 'Hard' But 'Joyful': Amanda Seyfriedīy 2003, Holmes had the support of Channing Robertson, her advisor and dean at Stanford's School of Engineering, who introduced her to numerous venture capitalists including Tim Draper and Steve Jurvetson.īy December 2004, at the age of just 20, she had raised $6 million to fund the firm, including using her tuition fees, reports The New Yorker.
