US prosecutors alleged that Lynch had embarked on an elaborate, multiyear scheme in which he backdated and fabricated sales and lied about the condition of Autonomy’s finances in public filings. The effect, they claimed, was to deceive HP into purchasing Autonomy for a puffed-up price. Prosecutors argued that Lynch himself walked away from the deal with at least $640 million in cash.
After a protracted legal fight over extradition, Lynch eventually faced criminal trial in the US in early 2024. He always denied the charges against him, but the odds of an acquittal didn’t look good; in 2018, Autonomy CFO Sushovan Hussain was convicted on similar charges, and in 2022, Lynch lost a civil trial in the UK High Court that culminated in a ruling that Autonomy executives had fraudulently boosted the firm’s reported revenue, earnings, and value.
But after a meandering, 12-week trial in federal court in San Francisco, Lynch was cleared of all charges by a jury, escaping the prospect of more than 20 years in prison. In a statement issued after the trial, Lynch described himself as “elated” and said he was “looking forward to returning to the UK and getting back what I love most: my family and innovating in my field.”
In a separate incident, Lynch’s co-defendant, Stephen Chamberlain, Autonomy’s former vice president of finance, has also died, after being hit by a car in Cambridgeshire, UK, over the weekend.
In an interview with The Times—his first after the verdict was announced—Lynch spoke about the strangeness of having been granted “a second life”: “The question is, what do you want to do with it?”
In a statement, former Autonomy COO Andrew Kanter tells WIRED that Lynch “was the most brilliant mind and caring person I have ever known.” He adds, “There is simply no other UK technology entrepreneur of our generation who has had such an impact on so many people. His passion for life, knowledge, and all those around him was instantly inspiring to everyone he met, and he will be sorely missed.”
In a tribute to Lynch provided to WIRED, David Tabizel, cofounder of Autonomy, described his late partner as a “remarkable individual” and “the rarest of entrepreneurs.”
“The man was a legend, a genius, a gift to world business and above all, a mensch,” says Tabizel. “Britain’s Bill Gates? Not really. Britain’s Steve Jobs.”
Updated 8-22-2024 12:30 pm BST: This story was updated with a tribute to Lynch from David Tabizel.
