Six people, including British technology entrepreneur Mike Lynch, are missing after a luxury superyacht sank off the coast of Palermo in Sicily, Italy. The yacht, named Bayesian, sank in rough seas caused by heavy storms. One person has been confirmed dead, and 15 passengers were rescued, including a 1-year-old child. Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, was among those rescued.
Mike Lynch co-founded Autonomy Corporation in 1996, later sold to Hewlett-Packard (HP) for $11 billion. HP accused Autonomy of inflating its value, leading to civil and criminal charges against Lynch. In 2024, Lynch and Stephen Chamberlain, a former vice president at Autonomy, were found not guilty of all charges related to fraud.
In a tragic turn of events, two days before Lynch’s disappearance, Chamberlain was seriously injured in a road accident in Cambridgeshire and placed on life support.
The cause of the yacht sinking is under investigation, and it remains unclear why Lynch was aboard the superyacht. Lynch’s involvement in technology companies, including Darktrace, a cybersecurity firm, has been marred by the legal battle with HP and the subsequent court case. Lynch has spoken out about the impact of the legal proceedings on his life and the importance of having adequate resources to defend oneself in such situations.
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