Continua a tenere con il fiato sospeso il naufragio dello yacht Bayesian, affondato a Palermo: tra i dispersi anche Mike Lynch, co-fondatore di Darktrace
A true tragedy that has been awaiting answers for too many hours, further diminishing hopes with each passing moment. Mike Lynch, a well-known British entrepreneur and co-founder of Darktrace, the cybersecurity company that has been one of McLaren’s most significant sponsors since 2020, is among the six people missing after the sinking of his yacht on Monday.
What exactly happened? On Monday, August 19th, at 5:00 a.m., the waters of Porticello (Palermo) were hit by a severe storm, right where Lynch’s yacht, Bayesian, was moored. There were 22 people on board, including some of his employees. What was supposed to be a reward vacation turned into a tragedy, with the vessel sinking to a depth of 50 meters following the incident.
Fifteen people were rescued, including Angela Baccares, the wife of the British tycoon. However, the remaining numbers are grim: one fatality and six people missing, among them Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter, Hannah.
The news has also left Darktrace and McLaren in suspense. The Woking team, a prominent player in this 2024 season, is anxiously awaiting positive news—though this seems increasingly unlikely as time passes.
Who is Mike Lynch?
Mike Lynch is a British entrepreneur and computer scientist best known for founding Autonomy Corporation, one of the most influential software companies in the field of data analysis. Founded in 1996, Autonomy became a pioneer in using search technologies to analyze large volumes of unstructured information, such as texts and videos. Under Lynch’s leadership, the company grew rapidly, becoming one of the UK’s leading tech firms. In 2011, Autonomy was sold to Hewlett-Packard (HP) for around $11 billion, a transaction that later led to legal disputes due to allegations of accounting fraud.
Lynch is also a controversial figure due to these accusations. After the sale of Autonomy, HP accused Lynch and other executives of inflating the company’s accounts to make it more appealing to investors, leading to a lengthy legal battle. In 2018, the British government approved his extradition to the United States to face the charges, although Lynch has always denied any wrongdoing, claiming that the accusations were baseless. Despite these legal troubles, which were definitively resolved last June, Lynch continued to invest in startups and emerging technologies through his venture capital firm, Invoke Capital, and also became a co-founder of Darktrace.
Photo: McLaren F1 Team, Wikipedia
