Current:Home > InvestWho is Mike Lynch? A look at the British tech tycoon missing from a sunken yacht in Sicily -Elevate Capital Network
Who is Mike Lynch? A look at the British tech tycoon missing from a sunken yacht in Sicily
View
Date:2025-04-16 11:14:20
Tech tycoon Mike Lynch, one of six people missing from a sunken yacht off Sicily, had been trying to move past a Silicon Valley debacle that had tarnished his legacy as an icon of British ingenuity.
Lynch, 59, struck gold when he sold Autonomy, a software maker he founded in 1996, to Hewlett-Packard for $11 billion in 2011. But the deal quickly turned into an albatross for him after he was accused of cooking the books to make the sale and fired by HP’s then-CEO Meg Whitman.
He was cleared of criminal charges in the U.S. in June, but still faced a potentially huge bill stemming from a civil case in London.
A decade-long legal battle had resulted in his extradition from the U.K. to face criminal charges of engineering a massive fraud against HP, a company that helped shape Silicon Valley’s zeitgeist after starting in a Palo Alto, California, garage in 1939.
Lynch steadfastly denied any wrongdoing, asserting that he was being made a scapegoat for HP’s own bungling — a position he maintained while testifying before a jury during a 2 1/2 month trial in San Francisco earlier this year. U.S. Justice Department prosecutors called more than 30 witnesses in an attempt to prove allegations that Lynch engaged in accounting duplicity that bilked billions of dollars from HP.
The trial ended up vindicating Lynch and he pledged to return to the U.K. and explore new ways to innovate.
Although he avoided a possible prison sentence, Lynch still faced the civil case in London that HP mostly won during 2022. Damages haven’t been determined in that case, but HP is seeking $4 billion. Lynch made more than $800 million from the Autonomy sale.
Before becoming entangled with HP, Lynch was widely hailed as a visionary who inspired descriptions casting him as the British version of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.
Lynch, a Cambridge-educated mathematician, made his mark running Autonomy, which made a search engine that could pore through emails and other internal business documents to help companies find vital information more quickly. Autonomy’s steady growth during its first decade resulted in Lynch being awarded one of the U.K’s highest honors, the Office of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 2006.
In the months leading up to the deal that would go awry, HP valued Autonomy at $46 billion, according to evidence presented at Lynch’s trial.
The trial also presented contrasting portraits of Lynch. Prosecutors painted him as an iron-fisted boss obsessed with hitting revenue targets, even if it meant resorting to duplicity. But his lawyers cast him as entrepreneur with integrity and a prototypical tech nerd who enjoyed eating cold pizza late at night while pondering new ways to innovate.
veryGood! (8)
Related
- From bitter rivals to Olympic teammates, how Lebron and Steph Curry became friends
- Lil Tay makes grand return with new music video following death hoax
- US expands probe into Ford engine failures to include two motors and nearly 709,000 vehicles
- Crews search for possible shark attack victim in Marin County, California
- Meta releases AI model to enhance Metaverse experience
- LeBron James says Bronny is doing well, working to play for USC this season after cardiac episode
- When does daylight saving time end 2023? Here's when to set your clocks back an hour
- When does daylight saving time end 2023? Here's when to set your clocks back an hour
- Shilo Sanders' bankruptcy case reaches 'impasse' over NIL information for CU star
- Why America has grown to love judging the plumpest bears during Fat Bear Week
Ranking
- Sam Taylor
- In a first, CDC to recommend antibiotic pill after sex for some to prevent sexually transmitted infections
- Black man’s 1845 lynching in downtown Indianapolis recounted with historical marker
- Kentucky man linked to Breonna Taylor case arrested on drug charges
- North Carolina justices rule for restaurants in COVID
- You Don't Wanna Wait to Revisit Jodie Turner-Smith and Joshua Jackson's Private Marriage
- Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos' Many NSFW Confessions Might Make You Blush
- Judge plans May trial for US Sen. Bob Menendez in bribery case
Recommendation
USA men's volleyball mourns chance at gold after losing 5-set thriller, will go for bronze
LeBron James says Bronny is doing well, working to play for USC this season after cardiac episode
More than 100 search for missing 9-year-old in upstate New York; investigation underway
8-year prison sentence for New Hampshire man convicted of running unlicensed bitcoin business
Most popular books of the week: See what topped USA TODAY's bestselling books list
MLB playoffs 2023: One question for all 12 teams in baseball's postseason
Unlawful crossings along southern border reach yearly high as U.S. struggles to contain mass migration
MLB wild-card series predictions: Who's going to move on in 2023 playoffs?