Ellen Huet

Ellen Huet is an American journalist known for her investigative reporting on startups, Silicon Valley culture, and technology. She is a features writer for Bloomberg News and Bloomberg Businessweek, where she covers topics including artificial intelligence, consumer technology, and tech industry power dynamics.

Early life and education Huet was born and raised in Fremont, California. She attended Stanford University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and Political Science. During her time at Stanford, she was a senior staff writer and managing news editor for The Stanford Daily.

Career Huet began her journalism career at the San Francisco Chronicle, where she covered crime and breaking news. She later joined Forbes as a staff writer, reporting on technology and its societal impacts. In December 2015, she joined Bloomberg, where she continues to focus on in-depth stories related to the tech industry and startup culture. The company was later investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

"Foundering" podcast In 2020, Huet reported and hosted the seven-part narrative podcast Foundering, which examined the rise and fall of WeWork and its co-founder Adam Neumann. The podcast received first place in the SABEW Best in Business audio category and was a finalist for the Livingston Award. In 2024, Huet hosted another season of Foundering, which chronicled the founding and internal power struggles at OpenAI, with a character study of CEO Sam Altman.

Awards and recognition Huet has received several accolades throughout her career: Finalist for the Livingston Award (2021) for her work on the Foundering podcast.

Selected publications "The Dark Side of the Orgasmic Meditation Company" – Bloomberg Businessweek "They Invented the Must-Have Instrument for the Burning Man Set. Now They Want to Kill It Off" – Bloomberg Businessweek "WeWork Wants to Become Its Own Landlord With Latest Spending Spree" – Bloomberg Businessweek Empire of Orgasm: Sex, Power, and the Downfall of a Wellness Cult (October 2025)