John Carreyrou

4.1935 learners

Bad Blood by John Carreyrou is the explosive true story of Theranos, the Silicon Valley biotech startup that promised to revolutionize blood testing with just a single drop of finger-pricked blood. Founded by Elizabeth Holmes, a charismatic Stanford dropout who modeled herself after Steve Jobs, Theranos soared to a $9 billion valuation, attracting A-list investors and a star-studded board of former politicians and business leaders. But behind the sleek branding and bold vision lay a massive fraud: the company’s revolutionary technology never worked. Carreyrou, the Wall Street Journal reporter who broke the story, exposes how Holmes and her partner Sunny Balwani lied to investors, manipulated test results, pressured employees into silence, and exploited regulatory loopholes to keep the scam alive. The book uncovers the toxic corporate culture, Silicon Valley’s obsession with 'unicorn' startups, and the failures of oversight that allowed the deception to grow unchecked, culminating in Holmes’ ban from the medical industry and the collapse of Theranos. A gripping tale of ambition, deception, and the high cost of prioritizing hype over science.