# Theranos, Silicon Valley, and the March Madness of Tech Fraud

- Show: [Oxide and Friends](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends)
- Published: 2021-09-21
- Length: 1h 12m
- Episode: 15
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2021-09-21-theranos-silicon-valley-and-the-march-madness-of-tech-fraud
- Listen: https://share.transistor.fm/s/002528dc

## Summary

Bryan Cantrill, Adam Leventhal, Cole Frederick, Land Belenky, and Simeon Miteff discuss the Theranos scandal, using it as a case study for Silicon Valley fraud. They analyze the 'lone inventor' myth, the dangers of secrecy, and the failure of due diligence by high-profile investors like Rupert Murdoch and Larry Ellison. The conversation extends to other fraudulent or failed ventures, including uBiome, UBeam, Solyndra, Tether, and Anthony Levandowski's actions at Google/Uber, while contrasting these with legitimate hard-tech companies like Cerebras Systems and Oxide Computer Company.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2021-09-21-theranos-silicon-valley-and-the-march-madness-of-tech-fraud#t=0) Introduction: The Theranos Book and Biotech Context
- [5:02](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2021-09-21-theranos-silicon-valley-and-the-march-madness-of-tech-fraud#t=302) The Myth of the Lone Inventor and uBiome
- [10:20](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2021-09-21-theranos-silicon-valley-and-the-march-madness-of-tech-fraud#t=620) UBeam, UBiome, and Balancing Vision with Reality
- [14:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2021-09-21-theranos-silicon-valley-and-the-march-madness-of-tech-fraud#t=846) Secrecy, Avie Tevanian, and Board Dynamics
- [23:48](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2021-09-21-theranos-silicon-valley-and-the-march-madness-of-tech-fraud#t=1428) Investor Due Diligence and Cerebras Systems
- [32:41](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2021-09-21-theranos-silicon-valley-and-the-march-madness-of-tech-fraud#t=1961) Software Thinking in Hardware: 737 MAX and Tesla
- [44:27](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2021-09-21-theranos-silicon-valley-and-the-march-madness-of-tech-fraud#t=2667) Anthony Levandowski and the March Madness of Fraud
- [52:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2021-09-21-theranos-silicon-valley-and-the-march-madness-of-tech-fraud#t=3120) Solyndra, Tether, and Better Place
- [1:01:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2021-09-21-theranos-silicon-valley-and-the-march-madness-of-tech-fraud#t=3666) Juicero, Flip, and Warning Signs of Fraud

## Topics

- [Intellectual property](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/intellectual-property)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)
- [Policy, trade & tariffs](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/policy-trade-and-tariffs)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Theranos (company)
- Bad Blood (other)
- uBiome (company)
- UBeam (company)
- Cerebras Systems (company)
- Oxide Computer Company (company)
- Apple (company)
- Next (company)
- Tesla (company)
- Uber (company)
- Solyndra (company)
- Tether (company)
- Juicero (company)
- Flip (product)
- Cisco (company)
- Better Place (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Cisco Systems & Urban Decay: Sandy Lerner (2018)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-05-10-cisco-systems-urban-decay-sandy-lerner-2018) (How I Built This)
- [Kickstarter, Open Source RC & Modelsource - Facinorous Financial Foulness](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2012-10-22-kickstarter-open-source-rc-modelsource-facinorous-financial-foulness) (The Amp Hour)
- [Shonky Stiver Stultiloquence](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2011-08-09-shonky-stiver-stultiloquence) (The Amp Hour)
- [Stripe: Patrick and John Collison (2018)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-03-09-stripe-patrick-and-john-collison-2018) (How I Built This)
- [10 Years of How I Built This:  A Decade of Innovation, Risk and Reinvention](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2026-10-05-10-years-of-how-i-built-this-a-decade-of-innovation-risk-and-reinvention) (How I Built This)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2021-09-21-theranos-silicon-valley-and-the-march-madness-of-tech-fraud. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Oxide and Friends.