A 2018 book about this company once valued at $9 billion was titled “Bad Blood”
The category for the Final Jeopardy round on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, was Businesses. The clue given to contestants was: “A 2018 book about this company once valued at $9 billion was titled ‘Bad Blood.’” This clue directed players toward one of the most infamous corporate scandals in recent memory — a company that promised revolutionary medical technology but became synonymous with deception and downfall.
What is Theranos?
The correct response to this Final Jeopardy clue was “What is Theranos?” The company, once valued at $9 billion, was founded by Elizabeth Holmes in 2003. Theranos gained widespread attention for claiming it had developed technology capable of running hundreds of medical tests using just a few drops of blood. The promise of revolutionizing diagnostic testing attracted major investors and partnerships with retail giants like Walgreens and Safeway. However, as later revealed, the company’s technology did not work as claimed, and its success was built on deception and manipulation of data.
The Rise and Fall of Theranos
Theranos positioned itself as a disruptive force in the healthcare industry, with Elizabeth Holmes hailed as the next Steve Jobs. Her charisma, coupled with the company’s secretive culture, drew in high-profile board members and billions in investment. At its peak, Theranos was seen as a Silicon Valley success story, symbolizing innovation and the power of visionary entrepreneurship.
However, investigative reporting by The Wall Street Journal in 2015 exposed the truth behind the company’s claims. Reporter John Carreyrou uncovered that Theranos had been using traditional blood testing machines for many of its tests rather than its proprietary Edison device. This revelation sparked regulatory scrutiny, lawsuits, and ultimately, the collapse of the company.
The Book “Bad Blood”
The 2018 book referenced in the clue, Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup, was written by John Carreyrou, the same journalist who first broke the story. The book provides a detailed account of the company’s rise and fall, including interviews with former employees and whistleblowers who risked their careers to expose the truth. It became a bestseller and later inspired multiple documentaries and dramatizations, including the Hulu miniseries The Dropout, starring Amanda Seyfried as Elizabeth Holmes.
Carreyrou’s reporting and subsequent book were widely praised for their investigative rigor, shedding light on how ambition, secrecy, and pressure for success can create an environment ripe for fraud. Bad Blood also served as a cautionary tale about the dangers of unchecked power in the tech industry and the consequences of prioritizing hype over transparency.
Legal Consequences and Legacy
Following the company’s collapse, Elizabeth Holmes and former Theranos president Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani were charged with fraud. Both were accused of misleading investors, doctors, and patients about the capabilities of their technology. Holmes was convicted on multiple counts of fraud in 2022 and sentenced to more than eleven years in prison, while Balwani received nearly thirteen years.
The Theranos saga remains a defining example of corporate deception in the modern era. It raised serious questions about investor due diligence, media scrutiny, and the culture of Silicon Valley startups that prize disruption above all else. Even years later, the name “Theranos” evokes the perils of blind ambition and the need for accountability in innovation.