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Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes is currently serving a reduced 9-year prison sentence (down from 11 years and 3 months) after being convicted of fraud and conspiracy in November 2022. Viewers got a glimpse into how the disgraced biotechnology entrepreneur ended up in prison through The Dropout. The Hulu miniseries, which premiered in March 2022, stars Amanda Seyfried as Holmes, with Naveen Andrews portraying Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, the man who co-founded the controversial blood-testing tech startup. While Holmes became the public face of the scandal – with her black turtleneck becoming as iconic as Steve Jobs‘ – Balwani has largely stayed out of the spotlight.
So, who is Sunny Balwani? Learn more about the man below.
Sunny Balwani Is the Co-Founder & Former COO of Theranos
As The New York Times noted in Nov. 2021, very little is known about Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani compared to the documentary and podcast series based around Elizabeth and her time with Theranos.
“Sunny Balwani is an extraordinary person,” Jeff Coopersmith, Balwani’s attorney, told ABC News. “He was born in Pakistan to a Hindu family, and eventually, the family had to move to India because being a Hindu in a mostly all-Muslim country of Pakistan was very difficult. When he got to the United States, he literally kissed the ground and studied at the University of Texas, where he got a degree in computer science. Everything he ever did in his life he got through earning it through incredibly hard work. He was the most hard working person pretty much I’ve ever met.”
Sunny Balwani Worked in Tech Before Theranos
Before helping Holmes launch Theranos – a company that promised its machines could run standard blood tests on just a few drops from a finger prick, per The Guardian – Balwani was already involved in the tech world. He was a Northern California sales manager for Microsoft, according to The New York Times. During the early dot-com boom, he joined a startup called CommercBid.com.
CommerceBid built platforms that pit suppliers against each other to drive down costs. It was bought by Commerce One for $225 million. When the dot-com bubble burst, Balwani made out with a reported $40 million. After going back to school, he became the chief operating officer at Theranos.
Sunny Balwani Was Also Charged With Fraud
In June 2018, Holmes and Balwani were indicted on federal wire fraud charges over a multi-million dollar scheme to defund investors, according to CNN. Both pleaded not guilty. In January 2022, a jury found Holmes guilty of four of eleven charges – one count of conspiracy to defraud investors and three counts of wire fraud tied to specific investors. She’s acquitted on three charges concerning defrauding patients and one conspiracy charge. The jury was unable to render a verdict on three of the other charges.
Her sentencing was scheduled for September 2022 because Balwani had yet to stand trial for his involvement. He has also been indicted with two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and nine counts of wire fraud.
Balwani’s lawyer argued that his client was innocent because he didn’t make any money during his tenure at Theranos.
“In over 28 years of practicing law, as both a federal prosecutor and a defense attorney, I have never seen a case like this one, where the government brings a criminal prosecution against a defendant who obtained no financial benefit and lost millions of dollars of his own money,” Jeffrey Coopersmith told Vanity Fair. “Mr. Balwani committed no crimes. He did not defraud Theranos investors, who were among the most sophisticated in the world. He did not defraud consumers but instead worked tirelessly to empower them with access to their own health information.”
Elizabeth Holmes Accused Sunny Balwani of Abuse
During her testimony, Holmes said she met Balwani the summer before she started at Stanford, when she was 18 and he was nearly two decades older and married. The two began a relationship that continued throughout the creation of Theranos. Holmes also accused Balwani of sexually assaulting her and being controlling in their relationship, as reported by the Washington Post. Balwani denied these allegations.
In the February 2025 interview with PEOPLE, Holmes revealed that she was raped at a college fraternity party. She now receives cognitive and behavioral therapy for PTSD, supervised by a psychiatrist, while in prison. Additionally, Holmes provides counseling to fellow inmates who are survivors of rape.
“I wish that I left, or I had seen the abuse or understood it — and why I didn’t — and I’m finding peace with that,” Holmes said to the outlet. “It can break a lot of people, and I was able to rise through it as best I can.”
Sunny Balwani Was Previously Married
Balwani was previously married to Japanese artist Keiko Fujimoto. The two lived in San Francisco before finalizing their divorce in 2002.
If you or anyone you know has been sexually abused, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). A trained staff member will provide confidential, judgment-free support as well as local resources to assist in healing, recovering and more.
