Bad Blood Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

John Carreyrou's Bad Blood Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup, the first volume in the Untitled series, chronicles the rise and fall of Theranos and its founder Elizabeth Holmes. This work of business and economics reporting examines the venture capital-funded biomedical startup that claimed its technology could run comprehensive lab tests from a single drop of blood. The company attracted massive investments, reaching a valuation over $9 billion, but the device never functioned reliably, putting patient health at risk through erroneous results.

Carreyrou, a prize-winning journalist, reveals the corporate finance and entrepreneurship hubris behind the fraud, exploring how Holmes and her partner Sunny Balwani suppressed dissent from employees and media. This biomedical and technology story offers a rigorous account of ambition and deception, updated with an afterword on the trial and sentencing.