Bloomberg/Getty ImagesFriends and colleagues of Mike Lynch have paid tribute, with the tech tycoon’s death on board a luxury yacht that sank off the coast of Sicily described as an “irreplaceable loss”.
The 59-year-old British businessman was among the victims when his yacht Bayes sank in stormy weather early Monday.
The bodies of four other people have been recovered, with a sixth still missing, believed to be Mr Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter Hannah.
Mr Lynch is a well-known figure in the UK technology industry, and his backing of successful companies has seen him dubbed Britain’s Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
However, he later became embroiled in a long-running legal dispute that led to his controversial extradition to the United States. was acquitted earlier this summer.
Former Sun editor David Yelland said Mr Lim was “an irreplaceable loss not just to those who loved him but to this country”.
“He is Britain’s greatest technology entrepreneur in recent decades, a family man, a long-term customer and friend of my company,” he said.
“The thought of Mike Lynch losing his life just as he began to rebuild his home is devastating to everyone who knew him.”
Mr Lynch’s wife Angela Bacares was rescued after the yacht sank. They lived at Loudham Hall Estate in Suffolk.
Lastmint.com co-founder Brent Hoberman described Lynch’s death as a “tragedy” and said Mr Lynch had much more to contribute to the UK tech community.
“He’s still on a journey and he’s been sidetracked by this court case for ten years,” he told the BBC.
“I think there’s a lot of unrealized potential.”
IT analyst Richard Holway said In a post on LinkedIn Mr Lynch is a friend of more than 25 years and “a uniquely British tech talent”.
“God knows what he can achieve next,” he added.
The highs and lows of business
Lynch co-founded technology company Autonomy in 1996, which expanded rapidly and was sold to HP in 2011 for $11bn (£8.6bn), from which Lynch is believed to have netted £500m.
He subsequently founded the technology company Invoke Capital, which helped found the famous British cybersecurity company Darktrace in 2013.
But questions over the sale of Autonomy triggered a protracted legal battle.
In 2022, Lynch lost a civil fraud case against HP at the High Court in London.
One day later, he was extradited He was sent to the United States as part of criminal proceedings and could face twenty years in prison.
He was found not guilty of all charges in June this year after a jury found him not guilty.
He told BBC Radio 4 that although he was convinced of his innocence, he could only prove it in a US court Because he is rich enough Pay the huge legal fees involved.
Mr Lynch reportedly traveled on a yacht with his family to celebrate his freedom.
Its name “Bayesian” is thought to come from his doctoral thesis and the theory on which the software underpinning autonomy is based.
Witnesses said its aluminum mast snapped in half during the storm, causing the ship to lose its balance and sink.
Mr Lynch’s neighbor Dick Smith told the BBC he was “shocked by the news”.
“He was very approachable, an easy guy to talk to and had a great sense of humor,” he said.
“You might think he would be difficult to talk to with all his money, but he’s actually an easy guy to talk to.”
soldering on carpet
Mr Lynch was born on June 16, 1965, the son of a nurse and firefighter, and grew up near Chelmsford, Essex.
His first computer was a BBC Micro, and he described fondly how it shaped his passion for programming in a 2011 BBC article Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the device.
While at school, he had his “first foray into technology commercialization” when he designed a digital sampler that could sample music and then sold the design, According to a 2017 interview.
He continued this hobby while studying natural sciences at Cambridge University, annoying his college by saying there was “solder on the carpet” in his room.
While at Cambridge he gained a PhD in mathematical computing and later a research fellowship.
In 1991, Mr. Lynch helped found Cambridge Neurodynamics, a company specializing in computer-based fingerprint detection and identification.
Five years later, his technology company Autonomy was established, and its software core used a statistical method called “Bayesian inference.”
Mr. Lynch led the company’s rapid growth and success in the late 1990s and early 2000s, winning many awards and honors.
In 2006, he was awarded an OBE in recognition of his services to British enterprise.
He served as a non-executive director on the BBC board and was appointed to the government’s science and technology committee in 2011, advising then Prime Minister David Cameron on the risks and possibilities of the development of artificial intelligence.
Autonomy and its software Aurasma were the chest-of-shirt sponsors of Premier League team Tottenham Hotspur from 2010 to 2013.
After Autonomy was sold to HP in 2011, from which Lynch is believed to have made £500m, he founded technology investment firm Invoke Capital.
The venture capital fund invested in the British network security company Darktrace in 2013.
Mr Lynch is a shareholder in the company and until earlier this year held a seat on its board.
“This is the beginning of a new life for Mike,” former cabinet minister Lord Deben told Times Radio.
Former Conservative MP John Gummer, Lord Deben, said: “He has done so much for Britain and his companies have put the country at the forefront and he would do it again. “
