Latest news with #BillyEvans
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'Our Approach Is Fundamentally Different'—Says Partner Of Elizabeth Holmes As He Launches A Blood-Testing Startup, Reportedly Gets Funding
Billy Evans, the partner of imprisoned Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, is raising millions of dollars for a new health-tech startup that's already drawing comparisons to Holmes' failed venture. His company, called Haemanthus, says it is creating AI-powered diagnostic tools that use light to analyze blood, saliva, and urine samples. Despite the similarities to Theranos, Evans is adamant that the comparison stops there. Don't Miss: 'Scrolling To UBI' — Deloitte's #1 fastest-growing software company allows users to earn money on their phones. Maker of the $60,000 foldable home has 3 factory buildings, 600+ houses built, and big plans to solve housing — "We're Haemanthus. Yes, our CEO, Billy Evans, is Elizabeth Holmes' partner. Skepticism is rational. We must clear a higher bar," the company said in a statement on X, directly addressing public concerns. "This is not Theranos 2.0. Theranos attempted to miniaturize existing tests. Our approach is fundamentally different."The company says it uses photonics and AI to detect disease earlier and more accurately. In follow-up posts, Haemanthus continued: 'The science, when ready, will stand on its own merits. But we feel compelled to introduce ourselves because of recent media coverage.' 'Setting the record straight. Elizabeth Holmes has zero involvement in Haemanthus. We've learned from her company's mistakes, but she has no role, now or future.' Trending: Hasbro, MGM, and Skechers trust this AI marketing firm — Haemanthus, named after the blood lily flower, was incorporated in February 2024 and is still in early development. It reportedly raised around $3.5 million from friends and family and is seeking up to $50 million more. According to the New York Times, some high-profile investors have already passed on the opportunity, while others have committed close to investing. The company builds on Raman spectroscopy, which it calls 'a proven technique with decades of research.' Haemanthus says it's using the method to scan biological samples on a molecular level using lasers, paired with deep learning models to detect cancer, Parkinson's, and other diseases. "We're making lab technology accessible through modern lasers and AI," the company said. "Think mainframe-to-PC transformation. Faster. Smaller. Accessible." Evans, an heir to a hotel fortune, lives in Austin, Texas, with Holmes and their two children. He has not publicly acknowledged Holmes' involvement, but media reports speculate she may be advising him from prison, where she is serving an 11-year sentence for defrauding investors. Haemanthus' materials do not mention Holmes, and the company insists she has 'zero involvement.' Holmes, meanwhile, told People magazine earlier this year that she plans to return to biotech after her release in startup's prototype resembles Theranos' miniLab, according to The Times, which accessed the marketing materials. It has a digital display and internal lasers. It plans to begin by testing pets before expanding to humans. The company told investors its long-term goal is to develop a stamp-sized wearable version of the device for people. Haemanthus claims it is not subject to regulatory oversight for its veterinary diagnostics, citing a redacted U.S. Department of Agriculture document. However, a USDA spokesperson told The Times the agency does regulate veterinary diagnostics and could not confirm the company's claim. Much of the Haemanthus team comes from Luminar, a self-driving tech company where Evans previously worked. 'Our co-founders have decades of experience in photonics, medicine, and AI. Our technical team scaled Luminar's laser systems to production,' the company wrote. Haemanthus remains in stealth mode, and Evans has been vague about specifics. "When you're in stealth, you're trying to be in stealth. They aren't going to find anything associated with the name Haemanthus," he told the Times. Still, the company is leaning into the scrutiny. "We've learned from her company's mistakes, but she has no role, now or future," Haemanthus said. As for why the company is starting with animals, Haemanthus said, "Not because it's easier, but because it's practical and meaningful. It validates our technology, helps animals who can't describe symptoms, and builds the foundation for human applications." Read Next:Inspired by Uber and Airbnb – Deloitte's fastest-growing software company is transforming 7 billion smartphones into income-generating assets – UNLOCKED: 5 NEW TRADES EVERY WEEK. Click now to get top trade ideas daily, plus unlimited access to cutting-edge tools and strategies to gain an edge in the markets. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? APPLE (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report TESLA (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report This article 'Our Approach Is Fundamentally Different'—Says Partner Of Elizabeth Holmes As He Launches A Blood-Testing Startup, Reportedly Gets Funding originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Business Mayor
15-05-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
Startups Weekly: A brighter outlook, but don't get carried away
Welcome to Startups Weekly — your weekly recap of everything you can't miss from the world of startups. Want it in your inbox every Friday? Sign up here . Startup news this week was fairly routine — in a good way: Aside from a minor kerfuffle between Y Combinator and Google, there was no headline-grabbing drama. Just steady progress and business as usual. Image Credits:Chime With IPO plans, acquisitions, and new launches, this week offers genuine reasons for optimism and bullishness. But don't get carried away, either: We're not ready for Theranos 2.0. Interesting filing: Digital consumer bank Chime publicly filed for an IPO this week. Among other numbers, the paperwork revealed it paid around $33 million to the Dallas Mavericks as part of its marketing efforts. Neon lights: Databricks is planning to spend around $1 billion to acquire Neon, a startup building an open source alternative to AWS Aurora Postgres, with hopes that their combined offerings will let customers more efficiently deploy AI agents (whatever those are). Catching the worm: Savings and investment startup Acorns acquired EarlyBird, an investment gifting platform for families, for an undisclosed amount. EarlyBird will shut down, and its co-founders will help build out Acorns Early, the startup's smart money app for kids. Bridging gaps: AutoUnify, the latest startup coming out of Porsche's partnership with venture studio hopes to become the Plaid of automotive retail with an API that bridges the communication gap between dealerships and service shops on one side and manufacturers and software vendors on the other. Friend or foe: Google launched its AI Futures Fund, a new initiative seeking to invest in AI startups that use DeepMind's tools. Also this week, Y Combinator released a brief accusing Google of being a 'monopolist' that has 'stunted' the U.S. startup ecosystem. Dual use: British startup Vertical Aerospace is working on a hybrid-electric eVTOL aircraft that would capitalize on its position as the only European player in the space, among rising demand for home-grown defense solutions. Are you kidding? Elizabeth Holmes' partner, Billy Evans, is reportedly trying to raise $50 million in funding for a new blood-testing startup with a pitch that resembles Theranos'. Image Credits:Bestow AI was once again a recurring theme in the pitches from startups that announced rounds this week, but these companies focus on a wide range of sectors and problems. Plus, there's fresh funding for fintech and for New York-based startups. Bestowed: Insurtech startup Bestow raised a $120 million Series D, including $75 million in primary investments, to launch new products and underwriting capabilities. AMD-powered: Las Vegas-based TensorWave raised a $100 million funding round co-led by Magnetar and AMD Ventures for its data center infrastructure, which primarily relies on AMD hardware. One step ahead: Sprinter Health, a company offering at-home preventative healthcare services such as blood draws, raised a $55 million Series B round led by General Catalyst. Pan-African: Egyptian startup Nawy, Africa's largest proptech platform, secured a $52 million Series A led by Partech Africa and $23 million in debt financing to support its MENA expansion. Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE are its next markets. Read More Reverse flipping – medium rare or well done? - Breakfast club: Fast-growing AI note-taking platform Granola raised a $43 million Series B at a $250 million valuation and launched a collaboration feature for teams. Fusion in a bottle: University of Wisconsin spinoff Realta Fusion obtained $36 million in fresh funding, which it plans to use to finalize the design of its Anvil prototype reactor. Talking babies: Hedra, a company helping artists produce podcasts featuring AI-generated talking babies, locked in $32 million from a16z. Fashionable: Doji, a startup hoping to make virtual apparel try-ons both fun and social, secured a $14 million seed round led by Thrive Capital it will use to improve its AI avatars. Bigger apple: New York-focused VC firm Work-Bench raised $160 million for its fourth fund, which will support seed-stage founders building enterprise software. Deeper: Mercury co-founder and CEO Immad Akhund launched a $26 million fund to back early-stage startups more meaningfully than as an angel investor. The fintech company was last valued at $3.5 billion in a March funding round. Image Credits:Eric Slesinger CIA officer turned investor Eric Slesinger may be the only American VC exclusively investing in European defense tech. In a recent episode of the StrictlyVC Download podcast, he told TechCrunch about the arguably prescient move that led him to found 201 Ventures.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘This is not Theranos 2.0′: Elizabeth Holmes' partner is the CEO behind new blood-testing startup
Billy Evans, partner of incarcerated Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, has reportedly raised millions for a new diagnostic startup called Haemanthus. In a public statement, the company has said Holmes holds no formal role at the startup and insisted Haemanthus was not "Theranos 2.0." Holmes is currently serving an 11-year sentence for defrauding Theranos investors. The partner of imprisoned Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, Billy Evans, has reportedly raised millions of dollars for a new health tech startup called Haemanthus. Haemanthus, which is Greek for "blood flower," is developing AI-powered diagnostic tools using light detection technology, according to NPR. Following reports that Holmes is advising Evans on the startup from prison—where she's currently serving an 11-year sentence for misleading investors about her medical startup, Theranos—Haemanthus denied the disgraced founder had any involvement in the company. "We're Haemanthus. Yes, our CEO, Billy Evans, is Elizabeth Holmes' partner. Skepticism is rational. We must clear a higher bar," the company wrote. "This is not Theranos 2.0. Theranos attempted to miniaturize existing tests. Our approach is fundamentally different. We use light to read the complete molecular story in biological fluids, seeing patterns current tests can't detect. Not an improvement. A different paradigm." "Setting the record straight. Elizabeth Holmes has zero involvement in Haemanthus. We've learned from her company's mistakes, but she has no role, now or future," the company said, adding its mission was to combine photonics and AI to "detect disease earlier and with unprecedented precision." Haemanthus is still in its early development phase, NPR reported, citing a source familiar with the company, and has mainly raised funds from family, friends, and other supporters. It is currently leveraging light detection technology to enable AI-driven medical diagnostics, a method detailed in a patent the company secured in January. Central to its approach is something called Raman spectroscopy—a technique with applications in identifying Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, and certain cancers. According to a report from The New York Times, Evans's company has marketed itself as pursuing 'human health optimization' and is developing a blood, saliva, and urine testing device that resembles Holmes's notorious Theranos machines. Fortune could not reach Evans for comment by press time. Holmes is still planning to return to the healthcare sector despite her public fall from grace. In a February interview with People magazine, Holmes said she is aiming to reenter the biotech industry after her release from prison and has been drafting patents for new inventions during her incarceration. As part of a settlement she reached with the SEC in 2018, Holmes is banned from leading public companies due to her fraud conviction. The former Theranos CEO was convicted of defrauding investors in January 2022 and sentenced later that year to over 11 years in federal prison. After self-surrendering to a minimum-security federal facility in Bryan, Texas, in May 2023, she has seen multiple unsuccessful appeals, including a recent unanimous denial by the Ninth Circuit in May 2025. Her projected release is currently set for April 2032. This story was originally featured on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Fast Company
12-05-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
Everything we know about Haemanthus, the blood-testing startup from Elizabeth Holmes's partner
Billy Evans, the partner of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, is currently in the process of raising money for his own startup. It's a blood-testing company. According to reports from NPR and The New York Times, both of which spoke with anonymous sources close to the venture, 33-year-old Evans has already raised several million dollars for a new 'stealth' startup focusing on diagnostics and health testing. Prior to this news, Evans first came into the public eye back in 2018 when he began dating Holmes, who is currently serving out an 11-year federal prison sentence for committing fraud through her infamous blood-testing company Theranos. Over the weekend, Evans's startup Haemanthus spoke out on X to reassure investors and potential future customers that it's not 'Theranos 2.0.' The company has no apparent contact information, and the direct messages on its X account are closed. Fast Company was unable to reach the company for further comment. Here's everything we know about the company so far. What is Haemanthus? Based on information provided to NPR, Haemanthus is a diagnostics company that's planning to build a tool that can scan biological material like blood, sweat, and urine to identify potential diseases. The name 'Haemanthus' itself appears to be an allusion to a flower of the same name, colloquially termed the 'blood lily.' To many readers, that whole premise might sound strikingly similar to the story behind Theranos, which promised to dole out accurate diagnoses using a single drop of blood, before it ultimately started falling apart. However, Haemanthus took to X this Sunday to clarify that its tech is not an extension of Theranos. The post starts by acknowledging Evans's relationship with Holmes and adding that 'Skepticism is rational,' before categorically denying any connection to Holmes's failed blood-testing company. 'This is not Theranos 2.0,' the post reads. 'Theranos attempted to miniaturize existing tests. Our approach is fundamentally different. We use light to read the complete molecular story in biological fluids, seeing patterns current tests can't detect. Not an improvement. A different paradigm.' What kind of tech is the company developing? Sources told NPR that Haemanthus is currently in the early stages of 'using light detection technology that can essentially guide AI sensors to conduct medical tests.' The company is specifically focusing on Raman spectroscopy, a form of chemical analysis that's been used to diagnose amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and some forms of cancer. Based on a notice published in late January, the company has already received a patent for its Raman spectroscopy system. A photo provided to potential investors and obtained by The New York Times reportedly indicates that Haemanthus plans to build a small rectangular device to contain the tech, which will include a door and a digital display screen. Sources told the publication that Haemanthus plans to roll out its tech for veterinary purposes first, before ultimately developing a stamp-size, wearable device for humans. This trajectory was confirmed in part in Haemanthus's X thread. 'We're starting with veterinary medicine. Not because it's easier, but because it's practical and meaningful. It validates our technology, helps animals who can't describe symptoms, and builds the foundation for human applications,' the post reads. Who is working for the company? Sources told both NPR and The New York Times that the startup currently has between 10 and 12 employees, most of whom worked with Evans previously at the lidar tech company Luminar Technologies. Haemanthus reportedly told investors that it had around two dozen advisers, including veterinarians and diagnosticians, though specific names were not provided. How much money has been raised? So far, The New York Times reported, the company has raised $3.5 million through family and friends and is currently seeking another $15 million from investors in the Austin and Say Francisco Bay areas. Materials reviewed by the publication reportedly suggest that the company has an ultimate goal of raising more than $50 million. Is Elizabeth Holmes involved? In February, Holmes told People magazine that she plans to return to her career in healthcare technology after her release, and that she's continuing to write patents for new inventions while serving her sentence. And in its exclusive initial coverage of Haemanthus, NPR cited sources who claimed that Holmes has been providing advice to Evans on his new venture from behind bars. On X, however, Haemanthus strongly refuted that claim. 'Setting the record straight,' the company wrote. 'Elizabeth Holmes has zero involvement in Haemanthus. We've learned from her company's mistakes, but she has no role, now or future. NYT and NPR implied otherwise. We've stayed quiet to build real tech, not conceal. Demonstrating, not promising.'
Entrepreneur
12-05-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Elizabeth Holmes' Partner Starts Blood Testing Company
The startup insists it isn't Theranos 2.0 and that Holmes, who's serving a prison sentence after being convicted of fraud, "has no role." Elizabeth Holmes, 41, is currently in prison for defrauding investors through her infamous blood-testing startup Theranos. Now, her partner and the father of her two children, Billy Evans, has founded a blood-testing startup—but the company insists it isn't Theranos 2.0. Related: 'It's Been Hell': Disgraced Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes Says Prison Life Involves Reading 'Harry Potter' and Working for 31 Cents an Hour The New York Times reports that Evans, 33, is working on a new company called Haemanthus, Greek for "blood flower," which focuses on detecting diseases through small samples of blood, urine, and saliva. According to investor materials viewed by The Times, Evans has raised $3.5 million for the startup from friends and family and is reaching out to investors in Austin and San Francisco for an additional $15 million in funding this spring. Haemanthus was incorporated in February 2024 and is focused on animal tests and pet health care before expanding to humans. Earlier this month, the startup received its first patent for a small, box-like machine that uses lasers to process blood, saliva, or urine samples. According to marketing materials, the machine can identify cancers, infections, and illnesses to make diagnoses with laser technology. Haemanthus' marketing materials outline its long-term goal of eventually developing a small, wearable version of the machine for humans. Elizabeth Holmes and Billy Evans. Photo byHolmes' company, Theranos, also attempted to diagnose diseases from a small sample of blood using a box-like machine, the Edison. The company, which Holmes founded in 2003, had a $9 billion valuation by 2015 but gained infamy after Wall Street Journal reporter John Carreyrou exposed that its technology yielded inaccurate readings and depended on third-party technology to perform its tests. The startup collapsed in September 2018, and in November 2022, Holmes was sentenced to 11 years and 3 months in prison after being found guilty of defrauding investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars. She began serving her sentence in May 2023. Holmes met Evans in 2017, and the couple now has two children. Sources told NPR that though Holmes is imprisoned in a federal facility in Bryan, Texas, she has been giving Evans advice on Haemanthus. Related: Elizabeth Holmes 'Giggles' About Her Faux Deep Voice and Recalls 'Sleeping in Walmart Parking Lots' in RV Ahead of Trial The startup denies the claims. Haemanthus turned to X over the weekend to clarify that "this is not Theranos 2.0" and that Holmes has "zero involvement" in the company. "We've learned from her company's mistakes, but she has no role, now or future," the startup wrote in an X thread on Sunday. The startup says it takes a "fundamentally different" approach from Theranos by using lasers to process blood and other fluids. "Theranos attempted to miniaturize existing tests," Haemanthus wrote on X. "Our approach is fundamentally different. We use light to read the complete molecular story in biological fluids, seeing patterns current tests can't detect." 3/ Setting the record straight. Elizabeth Holmes has zero involvement in Haemanthus. We've learned from her company's mistakes, but she has no role, now or future. NYT & @NPR implied otherwise. We've stayed quiet to build real tech, not conceal. Demonstrating, not promising. — haemanthus (@haemanthusinc) May 11, 2025 Haemanthus has about 10 employees under Evans, The New York Times reports. Holmes is expected to be released from prison on August 16, 2032.
