Elizabeth Holmes, Silicon Valley’s golden child, behind bars. She was called “the second Jobs”

, the founder of Theranos, reported herself to a Texas prison to serve her 11-year sentence. As reported by the American media, one of the most disappointing figures in the world of technology entered the penitentiary unit smiling and seemed to be in a good mood. This is a bit surprising, because, as “” explains, the woman will spend at least nine years behind bars – for good behavior, her sentence can be reduced by only 15 percent.

Elizabeth Holmes in prison

But why did Holmes end up behind bars? Its company, Theranos, was to change the market of laboratory tests. Holmes has managed to convince many influential people that he has the technology, thanks to which one drop of blood is enough to conduct hundreds of laboratory tests in a flash. She also got the media. “Elizabeth Holmes and her secret company Theranos want to revolutionize healthcare,” wrote Fortune magazine. “The new Steve Jobs” – announced on the cover of “Inc”. Theranos was considered one of the hottest startups in the United States. Her instant success, however, was based on a lie. Holmes did not own any breakthrough technology, so she was eventually accused of defrauding investors. They put quite a lot into the dream of a revolution in the medical market, because Theranos in 2014 was valued at 10 billion dollars. Four years later, after Holmes’ deception was exposed by The Wall Street Journal, the partnership collapsed.

“I’m devastated by my failure.” The court did not believe the tears

Holmes’s conviction was by no means certain. During the trial, which lasted nearly five months, the lawyers tried to portray their client as an ambitious but naive businesswoman who did not realize that Theranos technology did not work. Holmes expressed remorse, apologizing for “failing people who believed in her”. “I am devastated by my failure. For the past years, I have felt great pain every day for what investors have had to go through. I regret my mistakes,” she said.

However, the investigation revealed that Holmes and her associates knew their technology was not working. The company published fake test results. So it’s hard to talk about ignorance.

However, the court was not convinced and, in addition to a long sentence, also ordered the payment of nearly half a billion dollars to the victims of the fraud.