Part 5/8:
As Theranos gained attention, partners like Walgreens and Safeway poured hundreds of millions into the startup under the assumption they were investing in a breakthrough technology. Even as her product fell behind, Holmes reclined in the comfort of celebrity status, appearing alongside political figures and gaining press coverage that portrayed her as the youngest self-made female billionaire in history.
But behind the scenes, the reality was deteriorating. The machines were incapable of performing the tests she boasted about, operating instead on traditional third-party lab machinery. The facade began to come apart as concerns raised by employees were consistently silenced, fostering a toxic climate of fear.