THERANOS founder Elizabeth Holmes is not a villain but rather a hard-working, young and naive businesswoman whose company simply failed, her lawyer told jurors on Wednesday (8) at the former Silicon Valley star's trial on fraud charges involving the now-defunct blood-testing startup once valued at $9 billion.
Federal prosecutors and defense lawyers painted remarkably different portraits of Holmes in their opening statements to the 12-member jury in one of the most closely watched trials of an American corporate executive in years. The prosecution then called its first witness, a former company executive.
Robert Leach, one of the prosecutors, said Holmes had engaged in a scheme of "lying and cheating" to attain wealth and fame at the expense of investors and patients.
Holmes is accused of making false claims about Theranos, including that its devices - designed to draw a drop of blood from a finger prick - could run a range of tests more quickly and accurately than conventional laboratory means.
"In the end, Theranos failed and Holmes walked away with nothing," defense lawyer Lance Wade told jurors in San Jose, California.
"But failure is not a crime. Trying your hardest and coming up short is not a crime. And by the time this trial is over, you will see that the villain the government just presented is actually a living, breathing human being who did her very best each and every day. And she is innocent," Wade added.
Holmes, 37, has pleaded not guilty to 10 counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy. She may testify during the trial, which resumes on Friday (10) with more witness testimony.
"This is a case about fraud - about lying and cheating to get money," prosecutor Leach told jurors.
"The scheme brought her fame, it brought her honour and it brought her adoration," Leach added, also making her a billionaire.
"She had become, as she sought, one of the most celebrated CEOs in Silicon Valley and the world. But under the facade of Theranos' success there were significant problems brewing," Leach said.
The defense disagreed. Wade told jurors: "Elizabeth Holmes did not go to work every day intending to lie, cheat and steal. The government would have you believe her company, her entire life, is a fraud. That is wrong."
On paper, Theranos was worth billions of dollars, but when Holmes left it in 2018, her savings, stock and company were "all gone," Wade said.
Wade asked jurors to ponder whether Theranos failed because its technology was a fraud or "because a young CEO and her company confronted and could not overcome business obstacles that others saw but she naively underestimated."
Wade said Holmes dropped out of prestigious Stanford University at age 19 and bet her savings to start Theranos in 2003, then poured her life into it for 15 years. Holmes grabbed headlines with her vision of a small machine that could run blood tests in stores and homes.
"She was all in on Theranos, motivated by its mission, not money, committed to that mission until that very last day," Wade said.
Former Theranos executive Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, scheduled to be tried separately, also has pleaded not guilty. Court filings showed that Holmes, who had a romantic relationship with Balwani, has said he abused her emotionally and psychologically - allegations he denies.
One of her mistakes, Wade told jurors, was "trusting and relying on Balwani as her primary adviser."
Prosecutors have said Holmes and Balwani defrauded investors between 2010 and 2015 and deceived patients when Theranos began making its tests commercially available, including a partnership with the Walgreens drugstore chain.
Leach said Holmes agreed with Balwani to carry out the scheme. In 2009, after losing interest from Pfizer Inc and other pharmaceutical companies, Holmes turned to fraud, Leach said.
"Out of time and out of money, Elizabeth Holmes decided to lie," Leach said.
(Reuters)
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Anurag Bajpayee's Gradiant: The water company tackling a global crisis
In a world increasingly defined by scarcity, one resource is emerging as the most quietly decisive factor in the future of industry, sustainability, and even geopolitics: water. Yet, while the headlines are dominated by energy transition and climate pledges, few companies working behind the scenes on water issues have attracted much public attention. One of them is Gradiant, a Boston-based firm that has, over the past decade, grown into a key player in the underappreciated but critical sector of industrial water treatment.
A Company Born from MIT, and from Urgency
Founded in 2013 by Anurag Bajpayee and Prakash Govindan, two researchers with strong ties to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Gradiant began as a scrappy start-up with a deceptively simple premise: make water work harder. At a time when discussions about climate change were centred almost exclusively on carbon emissions and renewable energy, the trio saw water scarcity looming in the background.
Their insight was that some of the world’s largest industries—semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, food and beverage—were facing acute water-related challenges long before the general public grasped the issue. “Without water, these industries don’t just slow down; they stop,” Bajpayee has often remarked. What Gradiant offered was not just a way to save water, but a way to rethink how it is used, recycled, and valued.
The Engineers Behind the Mission
Anurag Bajpayee, the company’s CEO, whose academic path took him to MIT, where he completed a PhD in Mechanical Engineering focused on water treatment technologies. It was there that he met Govindan, a fellow engineer and now Gradiant's co-founder and COO, whose expertise complemented his in fluid mechanics and process engineering.
Unlike many founders who drift towards the language of venture capital and corporate strategy, Anurag Bajpayee and his team remained grounded in the technical problem: how to make industrial water treatment more efficient, more affordable, and more sustainable. The company still bears the imprint of its founders’ engineering roots. Gradiant is less Silicon Valley startup and more MIT lab, albeit one that has quietly expanded across Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North America.
What Gradiant Actually Does
The company specializes in designing and building bespoke water treatment and reuse systems for industrial clients. Its technologies are aimed at enabling factories and plants to reclaim water that would otherwise be discarded as waste, reducing both the amount of water withdrawn from natural sources and the volume of contaminated water discharged.
At the heart of Gradiant’s portfolio are proprietary technologies such as Counter Flow Reverse Osmosis (CFRO), Carrier Gas Extraction (CGE) and Selective Ion Recovery (SIR), developed from the Gradiant founders’ early research at MIT. Unlike traditional methods like reverse osmosis, these systems are designed to handle highly contaminated or complex wastewater streams, enabling clients to extract clean water even from previously unusable sources.
But Gradiant does not sell “one-size-fits-all” machines. Each project is tailored to the customer’s unique needs. For a semiconductor plant in Singapore, this might mean achieving ultrapure water reuse levels of 98%; for a food and beverage factory in Texas, it might be about safely treating wastewater for discharge while minimising energy consumption. The company's approach—sometimes called "solutioneering" internally—is both its competitive advantage and its raison d'être.
Expansion Without the Usual Hype
Gradiant’s growth has been quietly impressive. From its first commercial project in the oil and gas sector, it has gone on to complete over 500 installations worldwide. The company has raised more than $400 million in funding from a mix of institutional investors and private equity firms, achieving so-called “unicorn” status, with a valuation reportedly over $1 billion.
Unlike many green tech firms, Gradiant’s expansion has not been accompanied by flashy marketing campaigns or grandiose statements. Instead, the company has preferred to build credibility client by client, particularly in Asia, where water-intensive industries and growing environmental pressures make its services indispensable. Anurag Bajpayee, never one to speak in superlatives, frames the company’s expansion as a “response to urgent need” rather than a triumph of business.
Inside Gradiant’s Operations
At its core, Gradiant is still an engineering-first company. Anurag Bajpayee and Govindan, both technically trained and heavily involved in the company’s operations, have instilled a culture where R&D is not just a department but the lifeblood of the business. The firm currently holds more than 250 patents globally, a testament to its ongoing commitment to innovation.
But Gradiant’s success is not just about technology. The company has differentiated itself by offering not just equipment but full-service solutions, including project design, construction, operations, and maintenance. This full-stack approach has been particularly attractive to clients in highly regulated industries, who need water management solutions that work seamlessly and reliably without requiring deep in-house expertise.
Gradiant’s clients include some of the world’s largest manufacturers, including Fortune 500 companies in sectors like microelectronics, pharmaceuticals, and energy. Some, like semiconductor producers, rely on Gradiant to help them meet stringent water reuse targets while maintaining ultra-clean production environments.
Navigating a Changing World
Gradiant operates at the intersection of several converging trends: climate change, regulatory pressure, and industrial decarbonisation. In many regions, water scarcity has become the limiting factor for industrial growth, sometimes more than energy availability or supply chain constraints.
While public attention often focuses on domestic water use, it is industries that consume the lion’s share of freshwater. Gradiant's pitch is straightforward: industries will have to do more with less, and Gradiant offers the tools to make that possible.
Anurag Bajpayee is keenly aware of the paradox that water, despite being vital, is often underpriced and undervalued, especially when compared to energy. “We don’t pay what it’s worth, only what it costs,” he told an audience at a recent conference. Yet, the landscape is shifting. Regulators, investors, and companies themselves are increasingly acknowledging water as both a business risk and a social responsibility.
What's Next for Gradiant?
Looking ahead, Gradiant appears poised to play a central role as industries adapt to water scarcity. Yet, Anurag Bajpayee remains cautious about the hype cycle. "The problem we’re working on isn’t going anywhere," he says. "It’s not a question of innovation alone, but of execution—of making sure these solutions actually reach the places that need them most."
In an era where water risk is increasingly material to business, Gradiant’s quiet, technically grounded approach may prove to be exactly what is needed.
(The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Eastern Eye. The publication does not endorse or take responsibility for the accuracy of any statements made by the author.)