Billy Evans, partner of convicted Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, is stepping into the biotech spotlight with a new startup called Haemanthus. The company claims to be developing “AI-native sensors for health,” using Raman spectroscopy to read complex molecular patterns in biological fluids.
Given the reputational baggage Theranos left behind, it’s hard not to hear echoes of Holmes’ original pitch. But Haemanthus insists this isn’t a sequel.
“This is not Theranos 2.0,” reads the company’s official media statement. “Theranos attempted to miniaturize existing tests. Our approach is fundamentally different… The science, when ready, will stand on its own merits.”
A Strategic Break from the Theranos Legacy
Many companies in this position would’ve ducked the comparison or tried to PR-spin their way around it. Haemanthus didn’t. They met it head-on, which tells us they’re at least thinking strategically about how to manage a loaded narrative before it takes over.
Their message is clear: Haemanthus wants distance from the wreckage of Theranos, and to establish their own identity. And understandably so: Holmes is serving an 11-year prison sentence after being found guilty in 2022 of defrauding investors out of hundreds of millions. Her fall turned the promise of fast, revolutionary blood testing into one of the most notorious fraud cases in tech history.
Haemanthus’ situation is fraught with reputational landmines and follows a pattern we see often in crisis PR: the facts of the present are judged through the lens of a high-profile past.
Evans’ relationship with Holmes, as her romantic partner and father of her children, complicates Haemanthus’ entire brand narrative. The company directly addresses this in its statement: “Elizabeth Holmes has zero involvement in Haemanthus. We’ve learned from her company’s mistakes, but she has no role, now or future.”
Holmes’ Shadow in the Background
But even if Holmes isn’t in the room, her shadow is. Haemanthus is reportedly trying to raise more than $50 million, and some of the same investor circles that once bankrolled Theranos are being approached. That’s where the real tension lies: how do you build credibility in a space still scorched by scandal?
Skepticism isn’t just reasonable here, it’s necessary. Theranos didn’t fail because it aimed high. It failed because it lied. It used secrecy to mask a lack of scientific validity and exploited buzzwords to dodge scrutiny. That’s the blueprint Haemanthus must reverse.
To their credit, Haemanthus was smart enough to know the Theranos shadow would define the first chapter of their story, and getting in front of it was the smartest possible move. You don’t earn trust by avoiding uncomfortable associations. Instead, you start to earn it by acknowledging them outright.
Haemanthus’ Path to Earning Trust
To their credit, Haemanthus acknowledges this uphill battle. “Skepticism is rational,” the company says. “We must clear a higher bar.” That’s true. In fact, they’ll need to clear several higher bars—transparency, peer-reviewed data, independent validation, and a clear firewall between Evans’ leadership and Holmes’ legacy.
It’s not impossible. Technologies like Raman spectroscopy are real and used in academic and clinical research. If Haemanthus truly has a breakthrough on its hands and can scale this tech affordably with the help of AI, it could make a significant impact. But revolutionary health tech lives or dies on evidence, not just narrative.
Transparency isn’t just a regulatory or scientific requirement but also a reputational imperative. If Haemanthus wants to shed the Theranos shadow, they need to go beyond neutral press statements and adopt a posture of active accountability. That means proactive disclosures, media availability, and clear, consistent messaging that explains how this venture is different, and what guardrails are in place to prevent past mistakes.
Reputation, Proximity, and the Cost of Trust
There’s also a broader lesson here about proximity to scandal. How close is too close? Evans was not involved in Theranos’ fraud, but his ties to Holmes are unavoidable. Startups are built on trust with investors, regulators, and ultimately, patients. Trust must be earned, not inherited. If Haemanthus is serious about learning from the past, it has to embrace scrutiny rather than deflect it.
From a crisis PR lens, rebuilding trust when you’re adjacent to scandal requires over-communication, not cautious distancing. The company’s messaging is more grounded than Theranos’ was: there’s no messianic savior complex, no Steve Jobs cosplay. Instead, the language is cautious describing the science as “not ready” and in development. That transparency and humility is a step in the right direction. But it’s just the first.
Silence Invites Suspicion
For founders or brands linked to past scandals, know that silence invites suspicion. Smart reputation management means addressing the elephant in the room head-on, with facts, transparency, and a plan for earning trust. It’s the kind of reputational tightrope our team at Red Banyan helps companies walk every day.
Haemanthus may not be Theranos 2.0. But it is Theranos-adjacent, and that means it has more to prove than most.