$100M Theranos investor did little vetting for fear of upsetting Elizabeth Holmes

Enlarge / Former Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes goes through security after arriving for court at the Robert F. Peckham Federal Building on September 17, 2021, in San Jose, California. (credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Theranos sent a major investor financial projections that were wildly optimistic-perhaps even deceptive-the jury heard yesterday in the criminal trial of company founder and former CEO Elizabeth Holmes.

Laura Peterson, who oversees investments for RDV Corporation, the DeVos family office, testified that Theranos sent her company forecasts that predicted hundreds of millions of dollars in the very near future.

In October 2014, Theranos pitch materials said the startup would bring in revenues of $140 million in 2014, losing just $3 million that year. The picture was even more positive for 2015, when the projections forecast $230 million in profit from $990 million in revenue. In reality, the startup brought in only $150,000 in revenue in 2014. Peterson said that she and others were unaware that the company made no money in 2012 or 2013.

Read 13 remaining paragraphs | Comments