Mike Lynch was frequently described as the Bill Gates of Britain for founding Autonomy – one of the biggest software firms on the planet – in 1996. He seemed to live up to the moniker when he negotiated an 11 billion US dollar (£8.64 billion) sale of Autonomy to Silicon Valley pioneer Hewlett Packard (HP) in 2011.
The deal generated a more than 800 million US dollar windfall for him, but it also kicked off a 13-year legal saga which became one of Silicon Valley’s biggest ever trials. Mr Lynch founded Autonomy in 1996 (Tim Ireland/PA) He faced more than 20 years in US prison if convicted, and the Times newspaper reported that he spent 13 months under house arrest awaiting the trial. Being accused of a massive fraud represented a dramatic turn in fortunes for Mr Lynch.
Born in Ilford in east London, he was brought up in Essex but had Irish heritage. He was the son of a nurse from Co Tipperary and a fireman from Co Cork and talked in a 2015 radio interview of spending childhood summers in Carrick-On-Shannon and Tipperary where he had family. Mr Lynch went to Cambridge University, and started his first business while studying for a PhD in signal processing and communications research.
The company, Lynett Systems, produced audio products for the music industry including electronic synthesisers and samplers. Mr Lynch was an occasional musician himself. He told the Times in July that he had always played the tenor saxophone.
His doctoral thesis, meanwhile, is reportedly one o.