Theranos 2.0: How to Spot False Promises in Health Tech
After the release of the documentary "You Can See Everything," The Verge's senior reviewer explains why Haemanthus, a new venture linked to Elizabeth Holmes' partner, raises concerns, and lists signs of inflated health tech claims.
Following the release of Nathan Fielder's documentary "You Can See Everything," Victoria Song, senior reviewer at The Verge, has published an analysis of a company called Haemanthus. The film shows Elizabeth Holmes, founder of the fraud-linked blood-testing startup Theranos, and her partner Billy Evans working on a new diagnostic project that Evans casually calls "Theranos 2.0." Song argues the case offers a useful lesson in telling promising medical advances apart from empty promises.
What is known about Haemanthus
The company has no website, only a sparse LinkedIn page listing two to 10 employees and "AI-native sensors for health." According to a 2025 New York Times article, it is building a device that uses a laser to scan blood, saliva or urine from pets. Veterinary tests would come first, with humans possibly later. The long-term goal is a stamp-size wearable that would need three years and $70 million. A patent indicates the device uses Raman spectroscopy, which employs lasers to identify chemical structures. The method was discovered in 1928.
Three warning signs
First, technology is not magic. Raman spectroscopy is being studied for early-stage cancer detection and glucose monitoring, but it is not clearly better than existing methods in every case.
Second, medicine moves slower than the tech industry. The covid-19 vaccine took roughly 10 months, yet it rested on 30 years of research and several billion dollars. Evans said in 2023 that a prototype would be working in about a year, but in 2026 none is publicly visible. Regulatory approval can also take years.
Third, be wary of companies that don't show their work. Theranos did not publish research for peer review, and in 2015 it sent lawyers after Stanford University professor John P.A. Ioannidis, who had criticized this. Today Oura, Apple and Google publish peer-reviewed studies, though publication alone does not guarantee quality.
Song concludes that Theranos' playbook is still alive and well, and urges readers to scrutinize health tech promises.
