Even before they became the focus of Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s much‑talked‑about documentary, Elizabeth Holmes and Billy Evans were an unusual pair. In a letter written at the time of Holmes’s 2022 sentencing, Evans said that while she “may have ultimately failed to change the world in the way she set out,” she had “undeniably changed mine.” He added that the Theranos founder taught him “a patience” he would have once dismissed as “unnecessary and soft.” A friend of the couple later wrote that after a “monthslong camping trip,” Evans showed “a new level of compassion in his demeanor, a strong sense of intention with his actions, and a heightened desire to listen to and look at others with purpose.” Evans insisted that Holmes was not the only one receiving a second chance, and he hinted that they might get another one with Haemanthus, a venture he insists is “not Theranos 2.0.” A source familiar with the business told The Wall Street Journal that Holmes has no involvement.
In the documentary You Can See Everything, Evans appears to accept the label that he and Holmes are creating a Theranos 2.0. He talks about building a working prototype on camera and mentions collaborating on product ideas from prison. “To meet her, to spend time with her, that was the intention of the film,” the Austin, Texas‑based Evans told David Friedberg, co‑host of the All‑In podcast. “I haven’t seen it yet. I might think this is the dumbest thing that I have done.”
Who is Evans and what is he building? Before fathering two children—son William and daughter Invicta—with Holmes, Evans grew up in San Diego in a prominent family that earned its wealth from mid‑century pioneers in Southern California tourism. His grandparents, William and Anne Evans, opened a resort hotel on a mudflat in Mission Bay in 1953, later adding a second location and eventually a third in La Jolla. The business passed in part to Billy’s father, also named William.
Billy attended the Francis Parker School, one of the city’s most prestigious private schools. A former family employee recalled that the Evans family was “very well respected in San Diego,” but that Billy “always a source of drama, would try to fight to start fights.” He was described as having “affluenza” and fitting the stereotype of a “classic spoiled rich kid,” a trait that apparently changed later. Evans declined to be interviewed for this story and did not answer specific questions.
After earning a bachelor of science in economics from MIT, Evans attempted to launch a startup offering medical concierge services, which failed. He then held positions at several tech firms, including LinkedIn and Luminar Technologies, a self‑driving‑car company. In 2017, at a “Fleet Week charity event” in the Bay Area, the then‑25‑year‑old met Holmes and later wrote to the judge at her sentencing that he was “captivated…by her childish wonder and authenticity.”
Early reports suggested that the Evans family was not initially enthusiastic about the relationship, but that attitude seemed to shift by the time of Holmes’s trial. Billy’s father, William Evans, attended the courtroom incognito under the alias “Hanson,” presenting himself as a mechanic. He defended Holmes’s reputation and, according to NPR, drew attention by unwrapping a “large Rice Krispies Treat” whose crinkling foil drowned out the judge during the first day of jury selection.
In the film, Evans and Holmes appear on fundraising calls, yet Holmes’s name does not appear on any incorporation documents for Haemanthus, the company Evans founded in 2022. Public information about Haemanthus is scarce; the firm has not released a product and maintains only a minimal LinkedIn presence, with no website. Nonetheless, its name inevitably evokes Theranos, and its stated aim—to bring blood, urine and saliva testing into American homes via a countertop‑size device—mirrors Theranos’s original goal.
Haemanthus’s technology, however, differs from Theranos’s. While Theranos sought to miniaturize existing diagnostic methods to fit a small blood sample into a box, Haemanthus plans to use “light,” specifically lasers, in its device. The company’s Raman Spectroscopy System, patented on January 21, 2025, suggests a machine that can fire high‑power light at biological samples and accurately read the resulting data.
Raman spectroscopy is a legitimate and promising diagnostic technique that has been studied since its discovery by C. V. Raman in 1928. When light strikes a material, a tiny fraction of photons shift in frequency according to the material’s molecular vibrations. Measuring that shift allows scientists to infer the sample’s composition, a method now employed by specialists in research universities and hospitals.
The technology could become even more useful. WIRED spoke with Eric Potma, a chemistry professor at UC Irvine, who serves as a consultant for Haemanthus. He said, “Given that I act as one of their consultants, I am not sure if it i