Mike Lynch, a British tech entrepreneur, and his 18-year-old daughter are missing after their luxury yacht sank near Sicily. Lynch, who co-founded the tech company Autonomy in 1996 and sold it to Hewlett-Packard for $11 billion in 2011, was considered a major figure in tech, sometimes compared to Bill Gates.
The yacht, called Bayesian, went down after a severe storm hit. Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, has been rescued, but six people remain missing, including Lynch and his daughter. One person has been confirmed dead.
Lynch’s rise to fame began with Autonomy, which used advanced technology to analyze data. The company’s success led to him being awarded an OBE in 2006 and becoming a key advisor on AI development. After selling Autonomy, Lynch founded Invoke Capital, which invested in the cybersecurity firm Darktrace.
However, Lynch faced a long legal battle after the sale of Autonomy, with U.S. prosecutors accusing him of inflating the company’s value. He was acquitted in June 2024. Lynch has said that his wealth played a crucial role in proving his innocence.
The sinking of the yacht happened on the same day Lynch’s co-defendant, Stephen Chamberlain, was killed in a car accident in Cambridgeshire. The incident has brought significant media attention, as noted by BBC.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdxl5kpvrg9o