The partner of embattled bio-tech inventor and convicted fraud Elizabeth Holmes is part of a startup that plans to do medical tests using bodily fluids, according to reports from The New York Times and NPR.
Newsweek has reached out to a contact for Haemanthus as well as the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) via email Saturday outside of business hours.
Newsweek has also reached out to a website for Haemanthus Laboratory, which appears to be located out of the Bihar State in India. It is unclear if the website is linked to the startup.
Why It Matters
Holmes, who has two children with Evans, is over 2 years into serving a 135-month sentence after being convicted in 2022 of the large-scale fraud in Silicon Valley in the early 2000’s. Holmes told investors her company Theranos had created a new blood sample analyzer that would only require one drop to test for various diseases.
The scheme, which was dramatized in the Hulu-series The Drop Out, saw Holmes and others scheme her way into deals with large companies like Walgreens.
Holmes is currently incarcerated in at the Bryan Prison Camp in Bryan, Texas, according to the Federal Prison Inmate Locator.
What To Know
Haemanthus, an artificial intelligence startup, touts a health service that is similar to that offered by Theranos.
The company is aiming to raise $50 million to reach their target of “human health optimization,” and Evans has already raised millions in hopes of creating a medical testing product, according to NPR, which spoke to two anonymous sources close to the company.
Evans sent the outlet correspondence with redactions from the USDA saying, “It does not appear that the proposed product is within the regulatory jurisdiction” of the Center for Veterinary Biologics.
An image of the alleged device published by the The New York Times is eerily similar to Theranos’ “Edison” testing machine.
It remains unclear when the company will launch: Evans told the Times that “when you’re in stealth, you’re trying to be in stealth. They aren’t going to find anything associated with the name Haemanthus.”
In marketing materials seen by the Times, the company describes itself as “the future of diagnostics” and “a radically new approach to health testing.” The experimental medical device would allegedly use AI to detect health issues from tests done on bodily fluids.
On LinkedIn, Evans lists his current role as X for a “Stealth Startup” that started in October of 2022. Prior to that, Evans listed himself as working on Special Projects for Luminar Technologies, a company “producing advanced sensor technologies for the autonomous vehicle industry.”
Records reviewed by Newsweek show a Haemanthus, INC. was incorporated in Texas in February of 2024, listed as a foreign profit corporation.
Another company, named The Haemanthos Pathos Labs, operates out of India and describes the company as a “cutting-edge research facility focused on innovative solutions in biotechnology, diagnostics, and scientific advancements for improving health and life quality.”
What People Are Saying
Nick Mark, MD, an ICU doctor and founder of a podcast called Critical Care Time, said on X: “Ok this is nuts. While Elizabeth Holmes is in STILL IN PRISON for the fraud she committed, her partner is raising money for a new blood testing company: Haemanthus aka Theranos 2.0”
Rod Freund, an advertising and ecommerce attorney, posted on X: “We’re gonna get Fyre Fest 2 and Theranos 2 news cycles in the same year.”
What Happens Next
Holmes is set to remain in prison for another seven plus years, after a federal appeals court held up her conviction in February. A request to have rehear her appeal was denied last week.
It is unclear when Haemanthus is expected to launch and in what capacity.
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