Elizabeth Holmes Desk Simulator Opens Theranos Trial Archive
Extend engineer Bo Lau built an online 2016 Elizabeth Holmes desk simulator using real Theranos trial exhibits, from messages to Edison machine records.
Summary
On October 8, 2026, Extend engineer Bo Lau unveiled a website simulating Elizabeth Holmes’ desk at Theranos before the company’s collapse. It incorporates more than 1,000 emails, slides, texts and documents, plus machine records, drawn from exhibits in the United States v. Elizabeth Holmes criminal trial. The 2016 interface features a home-button iPhone with slide-to-unlock and a MacBook Air running OS X El Capitan. Users can browse Holmes’ phone and laptop or operate a simulated Theranos Edison, the ill-fated machine intended to derive extensive health data from one drop of blood.
The playful interface makes a notorious technology case easier to explore than retrieving thousands of court PDFs. It also promotes Extend’s watch party for Nathan Fielder’s upcoming Elizabeth Holmes documentary, “You Can See Everything,” and markets Extend itself. The company says its software parses, extracts and separates difficult documents with unmatched accuracy, although no technical methodology or supporting benchmark is specified.
Positives
- More than 1,000 emails, slides, texts and documents are consolidated into a navigable interface built from criminal-trial exhibits.
- The 2016 recreation accurately incorporates a home-button iPhone, slide-to-unlock and a MacBook Air running OS X El Capitan.
- Users can inspect Holmes’ phone and laptop while exploring real Theranos machine records and a simulated Edison.
- The interactive format makes public evidence easier to navigate than thousands of separate court PDFs.
Risks & concerns
- Theranos’ Edison is presented as the ill-fated machine that was supposed to extract extensive health data from one blood drop.
- The playful desk simulation risks letting entertainment framing overshadow evidence from a major criminal trial.
- The project markets Extend and its documentary watch party alongside its public-document archive.
- Extend’s claim of unmatched document-processing accuracy appears without technical details or supporting benchmarks.