Meet Ramesh 'Sunny' Balwani, Elizabeth Holmes' former boyfriend and business partner at Theranos, who is now on trial for fraud

Sarah JacksonMar 11, 2022, 13:22 IST

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes was convicted on charges of wire fraud and conspiracy in January.
Her ex-boyfriend and former right-hand man at Theranos, Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, now faces the same charges as Holmes in his own trial.

The fraud trial of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes rocked Silicon Valley last year.

The one-time Silicon Valley star was found guilty on three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy in January after a four-month trial.

Two months later, Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, who is Holmes' ex-boyfriend and the blood-testing startup's former president and COO, now faces his own fraud trial for the same charges brought against Holmes. The two are co-defendants in the Department of Justice's case, but their trials have been separated.

While Holmes was once lauded as the next Steve Jobs and deemed the world's youngest self-made female billionaire, Balwani is an enigma. Online information and photos of him predating the DOJ's case are incredibly scarce, especially considering his tenure in the tech industry and position as a C-suite executive.

As Balwani's trial begins, here's a closer look at what we do know about his often-mysterious life and career:

Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani was born in Pakistan in June 13, 1965.

Stephen Lam/Reuters

He and his parents later moved to India before coming to the US.

Shihan Shan/Getty Images

In 1986, he began studying information systems at The University of Texas at Austin.

Eric Gay/Associated Press

He later went on to work as a sales manager for Microsoft in Northern California.

Paco Freire/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

He also worked at Lotus Software, but his position and tenure there are unclear.

Reuters

Amid the dot-com boom, Balwani joined a startup called CommerceBid as president in October 1999. The software development company hosted online business-to-business auctions.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Amid the dot-com boom, Balwani joined a startup called CommerceBid as president in October 1999. The software development company hosted online business-to-business auctions.

The startup was acquired within a year by another software development company, Commerce One, for $225 million.

Kimberly White/Getty Images

The dot-com bubble burst not long after and the company went bang, but not before Balwani walked away with a reported $40 million.

Stephen Lam/Reuters

Balwani was once married to an artist named Keiko Fujimoto. They lived together in San Francisco before divorcing in 2002.

Thomas Winz / Getty Images

In 2003, he went back to school, pursuing an MBA at UC Berkeley. It was around this time that he met Holmes.

CNBC/Getty Images

They met on a trip to Beijing that was part of a summer Mandarin immersion program run by Stanford University. Holmes was 18 years old at the time, and Balwani was 37.

Wang Yukun/Getty Images

They initially became friends and grew romantically involved later, around the time Holmes dropped out of Stanford at 19 years old to focus on Theranos.

Theranos

In Theranos' infancy, Balwani gave Holmes advice and encouragement. As they became romantically involved, they began living together, sharing a condo in Palo Alto by the summer of 2005.

David Pu'u/Getty Images

In Theranos' infancy, Balwani gave Holmes advice and encouragement. As they became romantically involved, they began living together, sharing a condo in Palo Alto by the summer of 2005.

In 2008, Theranos' board wanted to replace Holmes as CEO with someone more experienced. She ultimately convinced the board to let her stay, partly by promising to bring on Balwani, who she said would help patch things up at the company, though she didn't disclose their relationship. Balwani ended up giving Theranos a personal loan of between $12 and $14 million after the well nearly ran dry at the company, and he became Holmes' right-hand man in 2009.

Drew Kelly/Sundance Institute / Justin Sullivan/Getty Images / Beth Dubber/Hulu

In 2008, Theranos' board wanted to replace Holmes as CEO with someone more experienced. She ultimately convinced the board to let her stay, partly by promising to bring on Balwani, who she said would help patch things up at the company, though she didn't disclose their relationship. Balwani ended up giving Theranos a personal loan of between $12 and $14 million after the well nearly ran dry at the company, and he became Holmes' right-hand man in 2009.

Theranos employees viewed Balwani, who was president and COO in his time at Theranos, as "the enforcer."

Stephen Lam/Reuters

According to John Carreyrou's book on the Theranos saga, "Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup," Balwani tracked how long employees were working, even telling one software engineer "I'm going to fix you" after confronting the staffer with a security tape of him only working an eight-hour day. The employee resigned and left, as Balwani called a security officer to go after him and later called the cops on the staffer.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

According to John Carreyrou's book on the Theranos saga, "Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup," Balwani tracked how long employees were working, even telling one software engineer "I'm going to fix you" after confronting the staffer with a security tape of him only working an eight-hour day. The employee resigned and left, as Balwani called a security officer to go after him and later called the cops on the staffer.

Balwani was known to fire employees on the spot at Theranos and scold lab scientists when tests failed.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

In October 2015, Carreyrou, then a Wall Street Journal reporter, published an exposé on Theranos' testing struggles that would be the start of the company's downfall.

CBS "60 Minutes"

In October 2015, Carreyrou, then a Wall Street Journal reporter, published an exposé on Theranos' testing struggles that would be the start of the company's downfall.

In 2016, the Journal reported that Theranos was under scrutiny by the FDA, SEC, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

DBenitostock

Later that year, in May, Balwani left Theranos amid the regulatory probes of the company.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

In March 2018, the SEC charged Balwani, Holmes, and Theranos with "massive fraud." The agency accused them of "raising more than $700 million from investors through an elaborate, years-long fraud in which they exaggerated or made false statements about the company's technology, business, and financial performance."

Andrej Sokolow/Getty Images

In March 2018, the SEC charged Balwani, Holmes, and Theranos with "massive fraud." The agency accused them of "raising more than $700 million from investors through an elaborate, years-long fraud in which they exaggerated or made false statements about the company's technology, business, and financial performance."

While Holmes and Theranos agreed to settle the SEC's fraud charges against them without admitting nor denying the allegations, Balwani has tried to fight the charges in California federal district court.

Reuters/Robert Galbraith

While Holmes and Theranos agreed to settle the SEC's fraud charges against them without admitting nor denying the allegations, Balwani has tried to fight the charges in California federal district court.

As for Balwani and Holmes' relationship, it remained a secret for a while. In deposition tapes obtained by ABC News in 2019, Holmes confirmed they had been living together and romantically involved. Investors had been kept in the dark about their relationship, which ended around the time Balwani left Theranos.

Yichuan Cao/NurPhoto via Getty Images (Holmes). Justin Sullivan/Getty Images (Balwani).

As for Balwani and Holmes' relationship, it remained a secret for a while. In deposition tapes obtained by ABC News in 2019, Holmes confirmed they had been living together and romantically involved. Investors had been kept in the dark about their relationship, which ended around the time Balwani left Theranos.

In June 2018, Balwani was indicted on nine counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Holmes was indicted on the same charges. One of these counts was dropped during the course of Holmes' trial, so Balwani now faces 10, not 11, counts.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

In June 2018, Balwani was indicted on nine counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Holmes was indicted on the same charges. One of these counts was dropped during the course of Holmes' trial, so Balwani now faces 10, not 11, counts.

Holmes' trial may have shed some additional light on Balwani, as many witnesses, including Holmes herself, spoke about him on the stand.

Vicki Behringer

Holmes testified that Balwani emotionally and physically abused her, which he has denied.

Brittany Hosea-Small/Reuters

Former Theranos employees testified that Balwani dismissed concerns they raised about the company's testing capabilities.

Melia Robinson/Tech Insider

Theranos whistleblower Erika Cheung, a former lab worker at the company, said Balwani told her, "What makes you think you're qualified to make these calls?" when she raised testing issues with him.

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic for HBO

Theranos whistleblower Erika Cheung, a former lab worker at the company, said Balwani told her, "What makes you think you're qualified to make these calls?" when she raised testing issues with him.

Alan Eisenman, a retired money manager and financial planner, first invested in Theranos in 2006 and said he grew concerned when he stopped receiving quarterly updates about the company from Holmes. When Eisenman tried to get information about Theranos' happenings, he said Balwani was "hostile" and "aggressive" towards him. When Eisenman discussed potentially selling his shares in Theranos, Balwani responded, "Your emails are insulting full of inaccurate statements and wasteful of our time. Our next response to this email and all your future emails will come from our counsel."

Kimberly White/Getty Images

Alan Eisenman, a retired money manager and financial planner, first invested in Theranos in 2006 and said he grew concerned when he stopped receiving quarterly updates about the company from Holmes. When Eisenman tried to get information about Theranos' happenings, he said Balwani was "hostile" and "aggressive" towards him. When Eisenman discussed potentially selling his shares in Theranos, Balwani responded, "Your emails are insulting full of inaccurate statements and wasteful of our time. Our next response to this email and all your future emails will come from our counsel."

Now, Balwani's own trial is kicking off.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Jury selection in his trial began Wednesday, and opening statements are slated for Friday.

Yichuan Cao/NurPhoto via Getty Images

As his trial gets underway, Balwani's role at the company is also a focal point in the new Hulu limited series, "The Dropout," which premiered March 3 and gives a dramatized account of the rise and fall of Theranos and Holmes, who is played by Amanda Seyfried. The show is based on the ABC News podcast of the same name.

Hulu

As his trial gets underway, Balwani's role at the company is also a focal point in the new Hulu limited series, "The Dropout," which premiered March 3 and gives a dramatized account of the rise and fall of Theranos and Holmes, who is played by Amanda Seyfried. The show is based on the ABC News podcast of the same name.

Balwani is played by Naveen Andrews in "The Dropout."

Beth Dubber/Hulu; Michael Short/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Apple just revealed a major upgrade to its least expensive phone, a new Mac desktop computer, and more

Cookies on the Business Insider India website

Meet Ramesh 'Sunny' Balwani, Elizabeth Holmes' former boyfriend and business partner at Theranos, who is now on trial for fraud

Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani was born in Pakistan in June 13, 1965.

He and his parents later moved to India before coming to the US.

In 1986, he began studying information systems at The University of Texas at Austin.

He later went on to work as a sales manager for Microsoft in Northern California.

He also worked at Lotus Software, but his position and tenure there are unclear.

Amid the dot-com boom, Balwani joined a startup called CommerceBid as president in October 1999. The software development company hosted online business-to-business auctions.

The startup was acquired within a year by another software development company, Commerce One, for $225 million.

The dot-com bubble burst not long after and the company went bang, but not before Balwani walked away with a reported $40 million.

Balwani was once married to an artist named Keiko Fujimoto. They lived together in San Francisco before divorcing in 2002.

In 2003, he went back to school, pursuing an MBA at UC Berkeley. It was around this time that he met Holmes.

They met on a trip to Beijing that was part of a summer Mandarin immersion program run by Stanford University. Holmes was 18 years old at the time, and Balwani was 37.

They initially became friends and grew romantically involved later, around the time Holmes dropped out of Stanford at 19 years old to focus on Theranos.

In Theranos' infancy, Balwani gave Holmes advice and encouragement. As they became romantically involved, they began living together, sharing a condo in Palo Alto by the summer of 2005.

Theranos employees viewed Balwani, who was president and COO in his time at Theranos, as "the enforcer."

Balwani was known to fire employees on the spot at Theranos and scold lab scientists when tests failed.

In October 2015, Carreyrou, then a Wall Street Journal reporter, published an exposé on Theranos' testing struggles that would be the start of the company's downfall.

In 2016, the Journal reported that Theranos was under scrutiny by the FDA, SEC, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Later that year, in May, Balwani left Theranos amid the regulatory probes of the company.

While Holmes and Theranos agreed to settle the SEC's fraud charges against them without admitting nor denying the allegations, Balwani has tried to fight the charges in California federal district court.

In June 2018, Balwani was indicted on nine counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Holmes was indicted on the same charges. One of these counts was dropped during the course of Holmes' trial, so Balwani now faces 10, not 11, counts.

Holmes' trial may have shed some additional light on Balwani, as many witnesses, including Holmes herself, spoke about him on the stand.

Holmes testified that Balwani emotionally and physically abused her, which he has denied.

Former Theranos employees testified that Balwani dismissed concerns they raised about the company's testing capabilities.

Theranos whistleblower Erika Cheung, a former lab worker at the company, said Balwani told her, "What makes you think you're qualified to make these calls?" when she raised testing issues with him.

Now, Balwani's own trial is kicking off.

Jury selection in his trial began Wednesday, and opening statements are slated for Friday.

Balwani is played by Naveen Andrews in "The Dropout."