“It’s been hell and torture to be here” says Elizabeth Holmes in her first in-person interview in years.
Once one of the tech sector’s most revered figures, Holmes’ story is one of a true fall from grace. Following a highly public trial, the founder and former CEO of blood-testing technology startup Theranos is serving an eleven-year sentence for defrauding investors.
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Since first reporting to Federal Prison Camp Bryan roughly two years ago, Holmes has stayed out of the spotlight. But she recently broke her silence, sharing with PEOPLE what her life has been like throughout her time behind bars, providing some unexpected details about her past, present and future plans.
Some might expect a figure like Holmes, whose empire crumbled and left her in prison, would turn her back on the tech field. But the former CEO has made it clear that being in prison isn’t slowing her down.
Holmes is facing a setback, but she doesn’t seem dismayed
When Holmes first rose to prominence as the founder and CEO of a disruptive biotech startup, she quickly attracted admiration. As a charismatic young woman who promised to revolutionize disease detection by making blood testing faster and less expensive, many people had no trouble rooting for her.
Holmes made the cover of many leading business magazines, including Forbes and Fortune.
But behind the walls of its impressive Silicon Valley headquarters, Holmes’ company struggled to keep up its facade as its researchers failed to produce the results that its CEO demanded, prompting her to resort to fraudulent activity.
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During her trial, Holmes delivered two babies, which delayed her reporting to prison. But now that she’s serving her sentence, the former startup icon has clarified that her time there is being used to focus on continuing her work in the healthcare field.
“There is not a day I have not continued to work on my research and inventions," she states. "I remain completely committed to my dream of making affordable healthcare solutions available to everyone.”
PEOPLE notes that Holmes is still writing patents for these inventions and intends to resume her career in the healthcare technology field upon her release from prison.
She did not provide any context on these inventions but seems reasonably confident that she will be able to reenter the industry she unsuccessfully tried to conquer.
This may raise questions about whether Silicon Valley venture capitalists will rush to work with someone who went to prison for multiple counts of fraud. But Holmes wouldn’t be the first businessperson to serve jail time and rebuild their career afterward.
Popular television host Martha Stewart served a five-month prison sentence in 2005 for insider trading charges. In the years that followed, she resumed her career in the media, mounting a successful comeback that included starting her own TV show and partnering with many popular brands.
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Things haven’t gone so well for fellow members of the jailed business leaders club.
Former pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli, who served roughly five years in prison for securities fraud, hasn’t been able to mount a successful comeback since his release in 2022.
In January 2024, a judge upheld his lifetime ban from the pharmaceutical industry and his most recent position seems to be serving as a law firm consultant for a modest salary.
Will Holmes find her way back to Silicon Valley?
As Holmes still has several years left on her prison sentence, it is unclear what the future holds for her. But based on her recent interview, she appears determined to return to her former industry and continue contributing to the scientific community.
Stewart’s story suggests that such a feat is possible. However, it should be noted that she served a significantly shorter prison sentence than Holmes on charges on a crime unrelated to her career as a media personality.
Related: Here's How Much Elizabeth Holmes Is Spending Before Jail
Holmes, by contrast, is charged with directly defrauding the investors who made her work at Theranos possible. Despite the charges levied against her, she claims to be completely innocent, stating “I refused to plead guilty to crimes I did not commit. Theranos failed. But failure is not fraud.”
That may be how she sees it, but the judge and jury who handed down the verdict against her viewed it differently.
That said, Holmes’ success in reintegrating herself into her former field will likely depend on the inventions she is allegedly writing patents for while in prison. If she can successfully pioneer a new piece of technology and fill a market need, she might be able to attract attention from investors, though she will likely be under intense scrutiny.
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