Here is a detailed response based on the search results about Mike Lynch, Autonomy, and HP:
Mike Lynch was a British technology entrepreneur who co-founded the software company Autonomy Corporation in 1996. Autonomy became one of the UK’s top 100 public companies and a leading company in the “Silicon Fen” region around Cambridge. [1]
In 2011, Hewlett-Packard (HP) acquired Autonomy for over $11 billion. However, the deal quickly turned into an “albatross” for HP after Lynch was accused of cooking the books to inflate Autonomy’s value prior to the sale. [1] HP later announced an $8.8 billion writedown of Autonomy’s assets, citing “serious accounting improprieties, disclosure failures and outright misrepresentations” by Autonomy’s leadership. [2]
The allegations against Lynch were investigated by UK and US authorities. In 2018, Lynch was indicted for fraud in the US, along with Autonomy’s former finance chief. [3] A civil case was also brought against Lynch by HP in the UK High Court, which in 2022 ruled largely in HP’s favor, finding that Autonomy’s leaders had fraudulently inflated the company’s finances. [2]
Despite these legal troubles, Lynch maintained his innocence, arguing that he was being made a “scapegoat” for HP’s own mismanagement of the Autonomy acquisition. In 2024, Lynch was acquitted of all criminal charges in a high-profile trial in San Francisco. [1]
Tragically, just weeks after his acquittal, Lynch died in 2024 when the superyacht he was celebrating on sank off the coast of Sicily, killing him and several others. [2] The circumstances around the sinking remain under investigation.
In addition to Autonomy, Lynch founded the venture capital firm Invoke Capital, which was an early investor in the cybersecurity firm Darktrace. Darktrace also faced scrutiny over its ties to Lynch and questions about its own financial reporting. [2]
Overall, Mike Lynch was a prominent figure in the UK technology scene, described as the “British Bill Gates.” However, the fallout from HP’s acquisition of Autonomy cast a long shadow over his legacy and led to protracted legal battles that continued even after his death. [1][2]