Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes is currently serving 11 years in prison for defrauding investors with her scam-laden blood testing start-up. Her partner, with whom she shares two children, is currently trying to raise $50 million for a blood testing start-up.
Despite the internets initial response that it must be satire or fake…nope. This story is very real and reported in the Tony pages of the New York Times. Billy Evans company is called Haemanthus — a flower also known as the blood lily — and bills itself as “the future of diagnostics” with “a radically new approach to health testing,” the Times reported. That sounds, well, pretty much exactly like Theranos.
You might wonder why Evans, described by the Times as an heir to a hotel fortune, wants to get into blood-testing of all businesses. And frankly, your guess is as good as mine. Maybe because technically its the family business?
Citing unnamed sources, NPR reported Evans has raised millions so far, but mostly among friends, family and other supporters. The company reportedly plans to begin testing pets for diseases before moving on to people.
The internet simply couldnt believe this whole story was real. One user on Bluesky poking fun at the headline had to clarify that no, the story was neither AI nor a joke.
The absolute fucking cackle I let out at this headlineimage or embed
Stop asking me if this is fake or AI 😭😭😭 www.nytimes.com/2025/05/10/b…image or embed
The internet, naturally, also had lots of jokes about Evans start-up.
So … I guess Elizabeth Holmes wasnt available for Surgeon General then?
Its so romantic that Elizabeth Holmes boyfriend is starting his own fraudulent blood testing company while shes in prison for fraud
This is a call from Camp Bryan Federal Prison from *deep voice* Elizabeth Press one to accept the charges. *BEEP*
ELIZABETH HOLMES: I have another blood idea.
Has it occurred to anyone that maybe Elizabeth Holmes is just a very dainty vampire.
In a time full of weird, unbelievable headlines, its really remarkable that the news can still be surprising.
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Health
Tim Marcin is an Associate Editor on the culture team at Mashable, where he mostly digs into the weird parts of the internet. Youll also see some coverage of memes, tech, sports, trends, and the occasional hot take. You can find him on Bluesky (sometimes), Instagram (infrequently), or eating Buffalo wings (as often as possible).